THE ORGAN AND SENSE OF TASTE IN FISHES. 
265 
while in motion. In fact, with these younger fishes the purpose of the activity of the 
free rays seems to be in the main the agitation of particles on the bottom to bring 
them into the range of vision. Almost any unfamiliar object, such as a bit of coal or 
a brightly colored pebble or any soft particle, if seen while in motion, will he apt to 
be taken into the mouth. The analysis is done here — not by the peripheral cutaneous 
organs. All small objects thrown into the water are taken into the mouth as they 
fall; bits of filter paper, gelatin, etc., will be taken and immediately rejected. The 
same bit of paper or excrement may be taken and rejected a half dozen times in 
rapid succession, the reflex following in a perfectly automatic way as soon as the 
moving object is seen. Small worms when thrown into the water would be captured 
before they had time to reach the bottom, but if placed on the bottom they would 
seek shelter under pebbles and remain unnoticed until they were stirred up and sent 
floating off, when they would be seen and taken at once. The free fin ray was 
observed to touch the worm when concealed without evoking a response. A moment 
later the worm was set in motion and taken at once. 
1 got no evidence that the fishes smell or otherwise detect the presence of food 
at a distance or concealed from sight and touch. Meat inclosed between clam shells, 
which a tomcod would have secured within a minute or two, remained unnoticed, 
though the outsides of the shells were repeatedly fingered over by the free rays and 
similar bits of meat were taken at once if in motion near the fish. 
The young sea-robins eat crab meat well. I made a strong- extract of crab meat 
and filtered it. Now with a fine pipette a jet of clean sea water was directed against 
the free pectoral-fin rays. There was no response, or if the jet was strong the fin 
was folded against the body. The extract of crab applied in the same way with the 
pipette gave the same result. Even when the jet is directed against the lips the fish 
usually pays no attention or is disturbed and swims away. This would seem to 
indicate that t he sense of taste is absent or very feeble on all of the exposed parts of 
the body. Thus the absence of special gustatory sense organs, of communis nerves, 
and of gustatory reactions from the free rays of the pectoral fins serve as mutual 
controls. 
The king -fish ( Mentieirrhus saxatilis ). — These fishes have a short, thick mental 
barblet, and they were studied to compare their reactions with those of the siluroid 
and gadoid fishes. Most of the types of experiment made previously on the latter 
fishes were repeated on the king-fish. Without going into details, the experiments 
seemed to show in general that the king-fish is not a pure visualizer. though vision 
is somewhat used in finding food. This seems to be in the main a tactile reaction, 
as most of the food taken was by contact and non nutritious substances were 
generally taken if they felt like food. For instance, colorless gelatin is taken at the 
first contact and repeatedly thereafter for an indefinite number of times, though in 
each case it is at once rejected as soon as it enters the mouth. The sense of taste 
seems to be limited to the mouth, and I found no evidence of a gustatory reaction by 
the barblet, though the experiments were not sufficiently numerous or varied to be 
conclusive. They do not find a concealed bait. 
The toad fish ( Opsanus tau ). — These fishes were experimented upon at the same 
time as the hake and tomcod, and by the same methods. The toad-fish never found a 
concealed bait and never seemed to get food by any other reflex path than the visual 
