194 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 



Mr. Wood, of Washington, D. C, has given 

 such attention to the sounds of birds that he can 

 interpret and imitate nearly all the sounds made 

 by domestic birds and many of those made by 

 wild birds. He has twice confused and arrested 

 the flight of an army of crows by imitating the 

 calls of their leader. His feats have been wit- 

 nessed with astonishment by many men of sci- 

 ence. 



Among fishes I have found but few sounds, 

 and most of these I have never heard except 

 when the fish was taken out of the water. The 

 carp and high-fin, however, I have frequently 

 heard while in the water. It has occurred to me 

 that the sound is not the medium of communica- 

 tion, but it is the result of an action by which 

 they do communicate even when the sound is 

 not audible. I have observed, while holding the 

 fish in my hand, that when he makes this sound 

 it produces a jarring sensation which is very per- 

 ceptible. It is quite possible that in his natural 

 element these powerful vibrations are imparted 

 to the surrounding water, and through it com- 

 municated to another fish, who feels it in his sen- 

 sitive body instead of hearing it as sound. It 

 may be accompanied by the sound merely re- 



