St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1892-02-06
HABITS OF FISH.
Notes OF o Correspondents to the Amsri.
can Angler

C&n AnkA0Es
All intelligent readers are familiar
with the physical outline of the
founder, a fiat fish that, when young,
swims In an upright position, but as
maturity develops, becomes top-heavy
and falls over on its side, and passes
its life in that position. This loss Of
balance we can readily understand,
as the law of the physics explains it,
but just here comes in the work Of
nature, which in mysterious way,
takes the two eyes, OF which there
were originally one on each side Of
the head, and, process beyond the
ken and reason why of the learned
scientists, transposes these two eyes
to the upper side Of the fish, in which
position they face the light and be-
come useful for its life purposes. This
is perhaps one Of the most striking
instances of the economy of nature,
in whose work no factor is displaced
or disturbed whereby her munlticence
may be lessened or her generous de-
signs frustrated.
The gobies, a family of fishes dis
tinguished by disk formed by the
ventral fins which enables them to
attach their bodies firmly to rocks OF
other substances, is represented by an
old specimen, a sort of half-breed
which has some Of the habits Of the
batricianS or amphibians. Its scien-
titic name is Periophthalmus koel-
reuter- the extent Of which seems to
have exhausted nomenclature in this
particular case, as no other name
can be found for it even in its natal
waters. 1t is true fish and builds
nests Of seaweeds and grasses, the
male watching the egg until Matched.
1t is native OF the tropics Undo Pa"
citic waters) and prefers muddy
bottom, in which it eXcavates canals
to pass the winter in. But its most
striking popularity is the habit it has
Of leaving the water at the ebb of the
tide and feeding on the small crus-
tacea and other substances exposed
by the receding tide. Owing to their
strong pectoral and ventral fins and
tail, they can hop freely and rapidly
over the ground. So quick are their
movements that it is almost as diff
cult to catch them with the hand aa
it is the ordinary pond frog. The
peculiar construction Of their eyes,
which are very movable. and capable Of
being thrust far out of their sockets,
enables them to see in the air as well
as in the water. When the eyes are
drawn In they are protected bya mem.
branous eyelid.
From the amphibious frog fish the
transition is natural when we con-
slider one that climb trees. 1t is
called Anabas scandens in the books,
and climbing perch" by the natives
of the Indian region. 1t seldom ex.
ceeds six inches in length, and has a
resemblance in general form to the
ordinary perches, having large scales
and strong spines on the gill covers
and fms. In 1897 Daldorf, in paper
read before the Linnean Society of Lon.
don, states that in 1871 he took a
climbing perch in the act of ascend
ing tree which grew near a pond.
The fish had reached height of five
feet above the water and was still
going higher. In doing this it held
on to the bark Of the tree by the
sharp spines Of the front and lower
gill covers, bent its tail and stuck in
the spines of it's anal, the back fin on
the belly; it then released its head,
and, raising it took a new hold
higher up with the spines Of the gill
covers, urging its way up by distend-
ing or contracting its body. The
testimony Of Daldorf has been cor
roborated by other travellers. This
perch leaves pools when they are in
danger of being dried up, and travels
in search of water, and when doing so
they have been met with in the glare
of noon toiling along on a dusty road.
But their migrations are generally
performed at or in early morning
while the grass is still wet with dew.
1t is said that the boatmen Of the
Gauges keep them in a vessel without
water for five or six days, killing and
cooking them as wanted from day to
day, the fish being always as lively as
! when first caught. 1t is said that
they are enabled to maintain life out
Of their native element so long a time
because of the retention Of a supply
of water in the interstices OF the
bones adjacent to the gills
sWHAT makes a woman marry"
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