14 THE ANGLER-NATURALIST. 



every fisherman knows, as a matter of experience, not 

 only that fish can, and do, hear loud noises, but that they 

 are constantly frightened away from his neighbourhood 

 by them. 



Instances in confirmation of this might be adduced ad 

 infinitum ; I will merely quote one or two mentioned by 

 Mr. Yarrell. The Chinese, who breed large quantities of 

 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 historian of Cornwall, brought his 

 grey mullet together to be fed by making a noise with two 

 sticks. Several other anecdotes bearing upon this subject 

 will be found in the course of the volume. 



To keep perfectly quiet, then, should be the angler's 

 second golden rule. 



Feeling. 



The rigid nature of the scaly covering in the generality 

 of fish renders it probable that they possess but little 

 external sense of touch. Many of their members are more 

 independent of each other than those of warm-blooded 

 animals ; they seem less connected with common centres, 

 " in this respect," as Mr. Kirby says, " rather resembling 

 vegetables"*. Some of their parts, such as the fins, if 

 mutilated, can be reproduced; and, indeed, a fish, like a 

 reptile, may be cut and almost dismembered without ap- 

 pearing to suffer materially. Thus, the shark from which 

 a harpoon has just dragged a portion of its flesh pursues 

 * Bridgewater Treatises. 



