Cuar. X.] BURYING FISHES. 351 
The position of its fins, and the spines on its gill-covers, 
might assist its journey upwards, but the same apparatus 
would prove anything but a facility in steadying its 
journey down. The probability is, as suggested by Bu- 
chanan, that the ascent which was witnessed by Daldorf 
was accidental, and ought not to be regarded as the 
habit of the animal. In Ceylon I heard of no instance 
of the perch ascending trees!, but the fact is well esta- 
blished that both it, the pullata (a species of polyacan- 
thus), and others, are capable of long journeys on the 
level ground.? 
Burying Fishes.—But a still more remarkable power 
possessed by some of the Ceylon fishes, is that already 
alluded to, of secreting themselves in the earth in the 
dry season, at the bottom of the exhausted ponds, and 
there awaiting the renewal of the water at the change of 
the monsoon. The instinct of the crocodile to resort to 
the same expedient has been already referred to’, and in 
like manner the fish, when distressed by the evaporation 
of the tanks, seek relief by immersing first their heads, 
for this purpose, has not been 
observed in Ceylon. 
1 This assertion must be quali- 
fied by a fact stated by Mr. E. A. 
Layard, who mentions that on 
visiting one of the fishing stations 
on a Singhalese river, where the 
fish are caught in staked enclo- 
sures, as described at p. 342, and 
observing that the chambers were 
covered with netting, he asked the 
reason, and was told *‘ that some of 
the fish climbed up the sticks and got 
over.’—Mag. Nat. Hist. for May 
1823, p. 390-1. 
2 Strange accidents have more 
than once occurred at Ceylon 
arising from the habit of the 
native anglers; who, having neither 
baskets nor pockets in which to 
place what they catch, will seize a 
fish in their teeth whilst putting 
fresh bait on their hook. In 
August, 1853, a man was carried 
into the Pettah hospital at Colombo, 
having a climbing perch, which he 
thus attempted to hold, firmly im- 
bedded in his throat. The spines 
of its dorsal fin prevented its de- 
scent, whilst those of the gill- 
covers equally forbade its return, 
It was eventually extracted by 
the forceps through an incision in 
the esophagus, and the patient re- 
covered. Other similar cases have 
proved fatal. 
8 See ante, p. 285. 
