THE SCIENTIFIC ANGLEK, 



CHAPTER I. 

 THE HABITS AND HAUNTS OF FISH. 



POWER OF VISION, HEARING, ETC., POSSESSED BY FISH.* PERI- 

 ODIC MOVEMENTS AND HABITS OF SALMON, BROWN TROUT, 

 CHARR, GRAYLING, AND PIKE. 



The habits of fish depend in no small degree on the 

 power of their senses, and to these we will briefly allude 

 before dealing with the subject in detail. The first 

 faculty to claim our attention is that of 



SIGHT. The clearness with which a grayling, lying 



* The subject of the senses of fishes is the cause of much curious 

 comment and speculation among angling naturalists, who do not wil- 

 lingly consent that the class Pisces shall be placed upon a plane below 

 that of the insects. The belief that fishes possess qualities which 

 reach a standard beyond the instinct of self-preservation has recently 

 gained in strength and interest, owing to the increased facilities that 

 fish culture has given us to observe their habits. It is conceded by 

 naturalists that certain insects, and many of the lower animals, have the 

 power of imparting mutual intelligence by processes unknown to us. 

 The little ants hobnobbing with each other ; the cooing dove wooing its 

 mate vocally ; the hen clucking her brood under protecting wings, are 

 familiar instances of vocal intercourse among insects and birds, and no 

 one who has watched the minnows of a shallow pool, has failed to see 

 equally sure indications that fishes have a way of their own in com- 

 municating with each other. I have often seen them dart swiftly to- 

 wards each other, putting nose to nose, and in a moment or two scull 

 leisurely away with what looked to me like a self-congratulatory flirt of 

 the tail, as if the matter communicated was of the utmost importance 

 to fish life in general. 



(7) 



