Sense of Sight. 93 



season, even after being purposely carried hundreds of 

 miles awa}', has commanded the admiration of biologists, 

 yet they can see nothing in the small and jelly-like brain 

 of the fish to account for the marvelous habit, but instinct; 

 on the same principle, perhaps, that Coleridge accounts 

 for the blindness of Love : 



" His eyes are in his mind." 



Sense of Sight. 



As the optic nerves of fishes show an extraordinary de- 

 velopment, we must naturally conclude that they are as 

 sharp-sighted in their element as we in ours. This, I 

 think, no experienced fly-fisher will deny; yet it is the 

 fashion for biologists to accord to fishes only a moderate 

 visual capacity, as compared with land animals. But good, 

 simple old Izaak Walton was much nearer the truth when 

 he said: "A trout that is more sharp-sighted than any 

 hawk you have named, and more watchful and timorous 

 than your high-mettled merlin is bold." 



"In the range of their vision and acuteness of sight," 

 says Dr. Giinther, " fishes are very inferior to the higher 

 classes of vertebrates; yet, at the same time, it is evident 

 that they perceive their prey or approaching danger from 

 a considerable distance." 



We are led to believe, from the investigations of anato- 

 mists, that the organs of special sense in fishes are very 

 imperfectly developed; I am constrained to believe, how- 

 ever, from the observations of myself and many others, 

 that fishes have the senses of sight, hearing, and smell 

 developed in a much greater degree than is generally 

 supposed. 



The diversities in form and position of the eyes of 



