12 THE SCIENTIFIC ANGLER. 



sion a vibration of the element which they inhabit reaches 

 them. Thus the effects of approaching heavy foot-falls 

 will be perceived, when a loud acclamation will have no 

 visible effect on them. A learned doctor of divinity, 

 once known to the writer, used to include in his category 

 of angling requisites a gigantic musical-box, which, for 

 bottom fishing, it was supposed, served the double pur- 

 pose of being a convenient seat and a charming substi- 

 tute for ground bait. So far as the latter object was 

 concerned, the effect was purely imaginary, as, to the 

 impartial mind, results amply testified.* 



We have now dealt with the two chief organs possessed 

 by fish, namely, those of sight and hearing, a knowledge 

 of both of which is highly important to fche angler. With 

 regard to the senses of taste and smell, we may briefly 

 state that from what we have been able to ascertain they 

 are very slightly developed; that of taste we do not be- 

 lieve is possessed in the faintest degree by the majority 

 of fish, f Roach, grayling, and the smaller species of deli- 



* It is conceded by observant anglers, that fish hear no sound origi- 

 nating in the air; but step, as lightly as you may, upon the margin of a 

 stream and the fish will scatter like shot from the shallows where they 

 are feeding or frolicking. The larger the fish and the less the depth 

 of water the greater and wilder the scattering will be. Security seems 

 to lie with them in the relative depth of the pools, as the light steps of 

 the angler only disturb them in a foot or two of water. A fish lying in 

 a hole three or four feet deep, close to the banks is not perturbed by 

 any ordinary concussion. 



tin this connection intelligent anglers are apt to query : "Granted 

 that fishes are only slightly, if at all, endowed with the sense of taste or 

 smell, why do trout, black bass and other fish reject the artificial lure if 

 the hook is not instantly fastened in their jaws or throat ?" 1 answer : 

 Fresh-water fishes, such as trout, bass, etc., feed as a rule upon soft food. 

 The shell of the Crustacea of our inland lakes and streams is edibly ten- 

 der, and suggests no anomaly to the feel of the tongue or jaw of the 

 fish. Not so with the fatal hook. Its gritty impact with the closing 

 jaw or tongue suggests a foreign subtance. It is foul food and as such 

 is instantly rejected. Again, the sheep'shead, drum and other salt- 

 water species, feeding upon clams and muscles, crunching the shells 

 with their massive teeth and strong jaws do not eject the lure ; on the 



