San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1878-11-23
THE F1NNY rR1BEs..r',S'
.N...,hi,,0 .fbomf Their Habits ana Prcu-
So"''" Nariftes. t.s.t

Curious uS puo phoHo"oh ih"y po
characterized, of creatures existing and
freely disporting themselves in a medi-
nm or element so dense that lmen, beasts
and birds, must inevitably perish in it,
vet investigation, proves that, besides
those species which we aretin the daily
habit OF seeing. the very depths of the
immense ocean contain myriads of ami
mated beings, to whose very forms, in
multitudes of instances, we are absolute
strangers, and of whose method Of life
the same ignorance is inevitable, 1t is
urobsble, indeed, that the fathomless
recesses of tho deer. contain many kinds
Of fish that man will never see. gaF
In their structural formation, modes
of life and general design, the watery
tribe may be said to be still more, aston
ishing titan are the inhabitants Of either
the land or the air~their adaptation to
the element in which they live Sbeing
really perfect. Most Of them haye the
same external form, sharp at each end
and swelling in the Middle, by which
conformation they are enabled to ira
verse their native element with. ease,
grace and swiftness. Indeed, it was from
their admirable shape that men original
" took the idea of those vessels which
are intended to sail with the greatest
speed-the progress, however, of the
swiftest sailing ships, with the adyant-
age Of favorable wind, is far inferior
to that of fish. Ten or twelve miles an
hour is no small degree of rapidity in q
ships sailing, yet any Of the larger spec
les of fish would soon overtaks her, play
round her as if she did not move, and
even advance considerably before her,
such is its wonderful celebrity of move
ment. The senses of fishes are, however,
peculiarly imperfect, and, indeed, that
Of sight is almost the only one which, in
general, they seem to possess; but this
is in some degree compensated by their
astonishing longevity several species
being known to live more than hun
bred years. a , ~ 49, .1r','li
The sense of hearing in fishes has
been the subject of much discussion
among naturalists, and though opinions
differ to some extent, the fact would
seem to be that the finny race can do no
more than be sensible of noise-they
cannot distinguish modulations or diff
ferences Of tone. There are not few
ideas, which, though pleasant and poeti-
cal, will not bear practical scrutiny, and
an instance of this kind is here afforded
that is, in the impossibility of the
supposed fact that fishes delight in. mu-
steal sounds and will come to be fed by
the attraction of a whistle. The true ex-
PLANTATION of the matter appears to be
that the vibration of the footstep, not of
the whistle, is the source Of attraction
rather than the other. 7t.-s55''s
That this is So, may, easily be proved
by a walk along the margin OF any canal
OF pond. Every one must have noticed
that footstep will instantly startle any
of the fnny tribe that may be lurking
under the grassy margin; on the other
hand, if the observer be standing still,
he may talk or whistle as loudly as he
likes, without the fishes taking the
slightest apparent notice, provided he
takes the precaution to keep himself and
his shadow out of sight. Had aquatic
animals the ears of aerial ones, they
would, owing to the superior conduction
Of sound by water than by air, be sunni
ed by comparatively slight noise.
Taste and smell have been proved, by
some interesting tests made by profess
sional ichthyologists, to Be more per-
fectly developed in fishes than was form
erly supposed. Many fish, in fact, are
known to be very particular in the choice
Of food, while others, such as the. MAX
erel and blue-fish, and mid-water and
top-water fish generally, seem to'be gov
ened by sight in their selection of food.
Thus, makerel have often been seen,
when they were abundant around YES
sci, to take all the bait that was thrown
overheard, but at the same time careful
Iy avoid the baited hook. 1t has also