Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-08-23
THE TROUT.
How and When he Leaps Falls-His Men
tai CAPACITY,

Il is only during freshets. or when the
waters are running. that the trout can
leap q fall; then, taking the waters at a
point where the stream runs strong and
steady, they back into the quieter waters
to gather impetus and make a dash at
the fall. So long as the body of water
covers them entirely, with all fins sub
merged, they can make progress, but
let the force of the current turn them
until one fin is exposed to the air, and
down the fish goes to the foot of the
falls. Stunned, strained, and apparent
ly bruised, it lays quiescent, but soon
rallying its forces, it swims gently up to
within few inches of the down-pouring
flood, as il carefully surveying the
stream of water, then backing gently
under force of the current, it rests few
moments, and then, quick as the eye can
follow its movements, it cuts the water,
slightly at angle to its force, and just at
the breast of the fall or dam it is seen
"a mere glimpse) in the air. Flinging
itself forward and head downward it en-
ters the upper water. Another second
and out it comes again and again, as IL
in mere sportiveness. Soon it is away
up the stream. 1t is the sheerest folly
to imagine that trout can fling itself
as much as five or six feet up n fall and
gain the upper waters by this method.
We cannot expect trout to do some
thing impossible. Comparison gives us
correct judgment, and analogy steps in
where we cannot Judge from observa-
ton; if we reasonfrom analogy we shall
not 60 far astray.
The mental capacity of trout. when
judged by their sense of sight, is fully
developed. Good old Izaak Walton used
to say that their sight was 'keerer than
a hawk" Now nature never intended
him to be so, because there is no neces-
sity for it; for nature never blunders;
nature always graduates the means to
suit the end.
A hawk needs to see his prey in the
grass or brush when lowering in the air
a mile or SO away, but trout's sight is
not so keen as it has been represented
to be. 1t is true if you come between
him and the bare sky behind at dis
tance of twelve or fifteen yards, he will
see you instantly and cease rising, but
increase the distance to seventeen or
eighteen yards and he does not see you
nearly SO well, and if you stop probably
he will not see you at all. 1t is ques-
ton in this case of the angle of refrac-
ton. The fact is, trout can see you
just so far as the angle of refraction en-
ables him to see you and no farther, and
this will, to an extent, be affected by the
depth of water that he lies in.
But what induces one to doubt the
sharpness of his sight is this: If you
stand with your back to tree or brush,
so that you make no distinct shadow,
and do not otherwise attract attention,
the trout cannot see you, and you can
raise him easily, almost under your rod
tip; but if you move three yards away
from the tree or brush you cannot do so.
Now we think this proves an eyesight
much less keen than hawk. Nature
meant the trout to get his living in the
water and on the surface thereof, and
constructed his eyes accordingly. She
did not in her scheme take into consid-
Grafton the fact that there might be rod
fishers on the river banks and in another
element, who would be inimical to the
trout and against whom it would be
necessary to provide fish with special
powers of vision. No doubt fish can
see his enemies in the water, as hawk
could see his in the air, and no doubt
anglers have educated trout to beware
of them; but it is to an imperfect extent
only, by reason of the difference of the
elements and by reason of the angler
not forming q factor in the scheme of
creation. .-Ansericdaa Amgler.