CHAPTER XVII 



STUDY OF FISHES 



IF it be granted that Nature Study in school should be related 

 to the peculiarities of the given region, it follows that a study 

 of fishes should form an important part of the Nature Study in 

 certain localities, e.g. in a fishing village or a fishing port. Where 

 the main occupation of the community has to do with " fish/' 

 the Nature Study will not lose by also taking to do with " fish." 

 The teacher must steer between the extreme of ignoring one of 

 the most obvious contacts with nature, and the extreme of allow- 

 ing a practically important subject of study to fill the horizon. 



In many parts of the country, remote from the sea, the only 

 fishes that can be used as direct subjects of Nature Study are 

 freshwater fishes, such as trout and minnow, pike and perch. 

 But here again there is no lack of interesting material. 



If it be granted that Nature Study in school should be related 

 to the course of the seasons, it follows that the migrations or 

 annual movements of fishes, notably of the salmon and the eel, 

 should be inquired into. It must be admitted that there are 

 many obscure points in connection with the life-history of these 

 two common fishes, but it is absurd to make this a reason for 

 allowing the school children to remain quite in the dark as to 

 the meaning of the " eel-fare," or of the salmon's journeying to 

 and fro between fresh water and sea. 



The aim of this chapter is to suggest three of the many ways 

 in which fishes may be studied in school. We suggest a study 

 (i) of the movements of the living fish ; (2) of the external features; 

 (3) of the life-histories of fishes. 



FIRST STUDY : THE LIVING FISH 



A study should be made of the movements of a fish, such 

 as a small trout, in a rectangular glass tank. The movements 



