Sense of Hearing. 103 



our perception of sound we are dependent upon our sense of hear- 

 ing, which is adapted only to a certain range of sounds; and this 

 range differs in human individuals, for we all know that some 

 other persons hear sounds imperceptible to us. Still more is this 

 true of other animals ; they may hear what we can not, yet be deaf 

 to sounds audible to us. 



" Strict experiments upon the hearing of fishes have yet to be 

 made. Most of the observations yet made are faulty, either be- 

 cause, first, the observer has supposed that the fish ought, if it 

 can hear, to notice a sound he makes for the purpose; or, second, 

 he has argued, from the standpoint of his own senses, that if a 

 fish hears, the range of its hearing must be nearly the same as 

 his own. 



" To conclude : that fish have ears, is indisputable ; that they 

 hear some sounds produced in the water, scarcely admits of ques- 

 tion; that they hear some sounds produced in the air, even 

 though they may not take notice of them, is probable, but lacks 

 (so far as I know) experimental proof; that they do not hear 

 many sounds which we hear, or at least do not discriminate be- 

 tween sounds which we, with our more highly organized organs, 

 readily distinguish, is almost certain. All of which ends in this, 

 that fishes hear, but their senses differ in range and delicacy from 

 ours." 



A remarkable instance, demonstrating the acuteness of 

 the sense of hearing in fishes, occurred some years ago in 

 California. As it is an exceedingly interesting and well- 

 authenticated fact, and one so totally at variance with pre- 

 conceived notions, I feel Justified in reproducing it here. 

 The account was published in the " San Francisco Chron- 

 icle," upon the authority of Mr. B. B. Eedding, then one 

 of the Pish Commissioners of California: 



" In Siiskiyou County there is a caravansary kept by George 

 Campbell, and known as the Upper Soda Springs Hotel, which is 

 situated on a semicircle of land formed by a, bend in the Sacra- 

 mento River. Wishing to have a supply of fresh trout close at 

 hand, Mr. Campbell had a supply of water conducted through a 



