96 SALMONIA. [FOURTH DAY. 



dying : this induces me to suppose, that there must 

 be some truth in the vulgar opinion of anglers, that 

 fish are, as it were, drowned by the play of the rod 

 and reel. 



HAL. The vulgar opinion of anglers on this 

 subject I believe to be perfectly correct ; though, to 

 apply the word drowning to an animal that lives in 

 the water is not quite a fit use of language. Fish, 

 as you ought to know, respire by passing water, 

 which always holds common air in solution, through 

 their gills or branchial membrane, by the use of a 

 system of muscles surrounding the fauces, which 

 occasion constant contractions and expansions, or 

 openings and closings of this membrane, and the 

 life of the fish is dependent on the process in 

 the same manner as that of a quadruped is on in- 

 spiring and expiring air. When a fish is hooked 

 in the upper part of the mouth by the strength of the 

 rod applied as a lever to the line, it is scarcely 

 possible for him to open the gills as long as this 

 force is exerted, particularly when he is moving in 

 a rapid stream ; and when he is hooked in the lower 

 jaw, his mouth is kept closed by the same application 

 of the strength of the rod, so that no aerated water 

 can be inspired. Under these circumstances he is 

 quickly deprived of his vital forces, particularly when 

 he exhausts his strength by moving in a rapid stream. 



