35 2 Miscellaneous. CHAP. xxv. 



of gut, was sticking in his lip. One of the fraternity, sedulously employed 

 on the opposite bank, remarked, that * it must have been an honest trout, 

 for it was not for want of temptation that he kept the hook for the right 

 owner.' . . . The insensibility to pain, which an angler can scarcely fail to 

 notice in these cold-blooded creatures, is a point which happily redeems 

 from cruelty the necessary inflictions of his craft. I recollect catching three 

 fine trout one evening when trolling on Loch Lomond with a friend, and we 

 discovered hanging out of the mouth of one of them a strong hair line. On 

 opening the fish we found a large bait-hook fixed firmly in his stomach, the 

 wicker and part of the hook being nearly digested. The creature had 

 evidently been caught and broke away from a set line, and though hooked 

 in so vital a part, not only took our bait greedily, made a most capital fight 

 for a quarter of an hour, but was in the very finest condition, having fattened 

 on his hard fare instead of wasting from torture." 



In connection with the power of language, vocal or non-vocal, in 

 fishes (pages 77 and 83) I omitted to mention that I have had trout 

 emit distinctly audible sounds in my hand, perhaps mechanically pro- 

 duced by the unavoidable pressure of the hand, but seemingly not so. 

 I grant that it is very rare to hear a trout make a noise with its mouth, 

 but that is no argument, for it is equally rare, if not more so, to hear a 

 fox utter a sound when run into ; only once out of hundreds of kills 

 have I heard a Deccan fox cry when picked by the silent greyhounds. 

 With Barbus Carnaticus it is rather the rule than the exception to make 

 a noise when caught, and they do it when in the bottom of the boat as 

 well as when in the hand, so that it is clearly voluntary. The fact that 

 sound is uttered at all, if, as it seems, it was voluntarily not mechanically 

 produced, is a strong argument for the general power of utterance, and 

 that, again, is an argument for the concomitant power of hearing, which 

 some have denied. Though, without an external orifice, the ear is 

 internally traceable in fishes. 



Do fish sleep ? If you can solve the enigma you will be clever. 

 It is a question worthy of a competitive examiner of most malignant 

 type. Thus I wrote in the last edition. But the same question having 

 been recently thrown out in Land and Water I have endeavoured to 

 reply to it as hereunder quoted, with the kind permission of the editor. 



" SIR, Your correspondent ' Laird ' has propounded to us the conun- 

 drum, ' Do fish sleep ? ' remarking that ' the question affects not only the 

 salmon tribe, but also all kinds of fish,' and asking for 'experiences.' 

 Apparently he has had some experiences himself, but hesitates to give them. 

 And well he may, for if any one were to say that he had seen a salmon, or 



