OCEAN LIFE. 49 



" The branchiae, or gills, in fishes possess complex powers, and 

 are capable of receiving the influence of oxygen, not only from 

 that portion of the atmospheric air which is taixed with the water, 

 but also directly from the atmosphere itself. 



" The eyes in fishes are observed to occupy very different posi- 

 tions in different species. In some they are placed high up, near 

 the top of the head, but more frequently on the flattened side of 

 the head, but always so situated as to best suit the exigencies of 

 the particular fish. 



" The sense of hearing has by some been denied to fishes, per- 

 haps because they exhibit no external sign of ears, but the 

 Chinese, who breed large quantities of the well known Gold-fish, 

 call them with a whistle to receive their food. Sir Joseph Banks 

 used to collect his fish by sounding a bell ; and Carew, the histo- 

 rian of Cornwall, brought his Grey Mullet together to be fed, by 

 making a noise with two sticks. 



" But from the rigid nature of the scaly covering of the gene- 

 rality of fishes, it is probable they possess but little exter- 

 nal sense of touch ; but they are not wholly unprovided 

 with organs which, in the selection of their food, are of essential 

 service. The lips in many species are soft and pulpy; the 

 mouths of others are provided with barbules or cirri, largely 

 supplied with nerves, which are doubtless to them, delicate organs 

 of touch, by which they obtain cognizance of the qualities of 

 those substances with which they come in contact. The Gur- 

 nards may be said to be provided with elongated, flexible, delicate 

 fingers, to compensate for their bony lips. It is a rule, almost 

 without exception that I am aware of, that those fishes provided 

 with barbules or cirri about the mouth, obtain their food near 

 the ground ; and these feelers, as they are popularly called, ap- 

 pear to be a valuable compensation to those species, which, re- 

 stricted by instinctive habits to feeding near the bottom of water 

 that is often both turbid and deep, must experience more or less 

 imperfect vision there from the deficiency of light. The olfactory 

 nerves in fishes are of a very large size, and their sense of smell may 

 be presumed to be acute, from the selection they are known to make 

 in their search after food ; and the advantage said to be gained by 



