CONDITIONS WHICH GOVERN THE BITING OF FISH. 361 



Streams are often rendered turbid by heavy rains, and 

 lakes and ponds by what is termed "working" or "blos- 

 soming." At such times fish can not see well enough to 

 find their food or discern their enemies, and consequently 

 lie secure in their hiding-places. When the water be- 

 comes clear, they again venture forth to eat and be eaten. 



Then, heavy and continued rains, violent winds, and the 

 change of season, affect the food-supply of fishes, and, con- 

 sequently, the fishes themselves. These various causes make 

 fish seem capricious in their time and manner of feeding. 



Then, again, while all the conditions may be favorable 

 for their feeding, they may be deterred from seeking their 

 food by a fear of enemies; and only venture forth when 

 the cause of such fear has disappeared, or their qualms of 

 stomach overcome their prudence. 



But little can be learned in this respect from fishes that 

 are confined in aquaria, or from those that are artificially 

 cultivated, for these unnatural conditions presuppose a 

 change in their habits. 



We know that fish, in their native waters, are quite 

 timid, and ever on the alert for danger a footstep on 

 the bank, or a shadow cast suddenly on the water, will 

 cause them to hastily skurry away. 



No food, however tempting, can entice them so long as 

 there is an appearance of danger, and their caution is 

 then set down as eccentricity. 



Now, all this may, or may not, be; but it is as reasona- 

 ble as any other theory ; and this habit of alternate feast- 

 ing and fasting, for a longer or a shorter time, will ex- 

 plain, in some measure, many of the features in regard to 

 the uncertainty of "biting" in fishes of inland waters. 



As before stated, there is much that can be learned by 

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