bt FISHES IN GENERAL^ 1^ 



food. But the experiments made by Mr. Gorian *, 

 profelTor of medicine at Montpelier, clearly demonflrate 

 the fallacy of thefe proofs. The gold fifhes, which he 

 kept in vafes, he could never difturb by the loudell noife, 

 provided he could prevent the tremor of the air from 

 afFe£ling the water. It appears, therefore, that iilhes 

 are as dellitute of hearing as of voice ; and that, whea 

 they appear to come to their food at the call of a bell or 

 whiftle, it is either by feeling the vibrations of the found 

 sffe6l the water, or by feeing the perfons approach by 

 whom they are accuftomed to be fed f . 



The fight of fifhes is probably the moft perfect of all 

 their fenfes, and yet it is far inferior to that of 

 moft other animals. They have, px-operly fpeaking, no 

 eye-lids : Their fight is protedled in the water by a 

 nictating membrane, which is a continuation of the fame 

 tranfparent Ikin that covers the refl of the head. The 

 cryftalline humour, which in moft other animals is flat, 

 is in them convex, and round like a ball J. In confe- 

 quence of this, thefe animals muft be near-fighted, even 

 in water, which, like a concave glafs, corrects, in fome 

 degree, this defe£l of the organ of vifion. We have no 

 evidence of any fifhes feeing at a confiderable diftance ; and 

 the cafe with many of them, that are deceived by the 

 different kinds of bait prepared in imitation of their food, 

 gives room to fufpefl:, that objeds are not very diftinclly 

 perceived by them, even when near. 



From this fliort account of the external fenfes of fifhes, 

 it muft appear, that their faculties, in point of perfection, 

 fall greatly below thofe of the other tribesj which have al- 

 ready 



* Hiftoria Pifc. f Licnsel Syflema NaturK, 



I Goldfmith'^ Nat; Hift. vol. vi. 



