The times., 1901-06-16

W "a A'NIlItNNi ONs 'DO ~ Ds1
/ the GROUND. and entirely new problems face the
scientist Therefore IL is extremely luroTtlHl
That all pertinent observations should he gath-
cred together again and elaborated anew
The undersigned requests all in position to
observe fish. especially anglers and fish breeders
O. he -"od enough To send him data bearing %
this subject n particular, nc would beg thit
facts long accepted such If their CORRECTNESS
has boon tested hy recent observations be COM
r'uHig1ted 90 him.
ANSWERS To THE APPEAL.
This appeal was attended by most sat
isfacjory results. Within q few months
received an abundant crop of ccmsnuni-
cations from all parts-from Germany.
! France, North America Siam, and India.
1t was surprising to note the interest OF
! breeders. anglers. students of nature. and
Giiettanti Equally surprising and de
( lishtful was the circumstance that com
paTatively. few of the Communications
proved wholly worthless. The majority Of
my correspondents knew how to observe
and report with unassanab!e accuracy.
The brain of osseous fishes is pretty
accurately known. The nerves Of sense,
like those in the higher animals, lose
. themselves in their primary terminl. but
not the faiEtCst path can be traced from
these to ANYTHING resembling cOTtlc1l
These animals, then. must contlne their
activity to the primary termini. II we
wish 10 find out the functions OF this ap-
paTatCS, re must begin by determining
the sense impTeS SsiOns fishes can receive.
Do they see or hear or smell? Are they,
perhaps IN possession or sense quaHtles
lacking in other animals Whether a
stimulus takes effect or not can be IN
fcrred only from the movements follow
ing upon its application. IN the nrSt
steps of the investigation we need not
not only felt and responded to. but per
ceived. As is well known, even man,
equipped as he is with very acute ca
paClty Of percciVing, often responds to
stimuli which he does not perceive, if
his attention is not particularly directed
to them. In fact, he cannot recognize all
the stimuli that excite nim
Mr.. Edinger quotes a number of opin
ions from wclI-knOwn scientists together
with Instances which go To suggest, at
least that the faculty of memory, al
though to less degree than in animals
of q higher order. is developed in fishes.
Let us sum up briefly what conclusions
IN sense impressions of fishes They re-
spOnd to chemical irritations (Sense Of
taste and smclD. they receive light sen
sations. gain optical images through their
eyes, and can see. Ii is questionable
whether. properly speaking, they can hear,
but they are aware of violent connections
in the water. even such as are produced
by sound waves. Finally, 1t appears that
they possess additional sense organs in
the canals of the head and along the lat
cral line which permit sensations cor
responding To variations of pressure eX-
erted by the surrounding medium With
regard To this sense apparatus. we know
not only the end organs at :he surface
Of the body. but also the nerves and their
termini in the brain.
Fishermen are well aware that places
in which a great deal of fishing has been
done are for some time avoided by fish.
Various experiences seem to point TO the
at least avoid, objects believed to be
noXiouS to them Many reports maintain
that pike once made acquainted with wire
nets thereafter avoided them. Herr
Buerob, master of the fisheries at Wei
mar, writes THAI. though a large pike did
not reccil from persons passing his perma
nent place even when tickled with whin,
II disappeared instantly at sight of a pike
r"ok ater " was FOUND mat il pore
the marks Of having been pricked on a
former occasion
KNOW THEIR KEEPER.
Mr.. Mulert, Of New York. mentions
that the fish bred by him in large guam
titles, which as a rule swim close up to
him, fee If he holds little net in his
hand when he opens the Aquarium. Ac-
cording to various observations, swarms
of fish absent themselves if one of their
number has been caught with a hook.
THE above experiences in connection
u 4Aii the tanning OF l4SN may SulDCE 10
prove that Impressions once received can
be retained. The same conclusion is
forced upon US with still greater clearness
by the letters, in the neighbOThoOd Of $50
that concern themselves with the behavior
Of fishes at feeding times, whether in
ponds or streams or aquariums The
statements in all are so absolutely iden-
teal that the reported facts may well be
accepted as the result of the aggregate eX-
periences of all observers of fsf1
FtTrG a
goldfish and tench, kept in different
aquariums, take food from his hand. and
some allow him to caress them For four
months every year they are released in
upud. While there they are timid. and
do not come up to the attendant or owner,
but soon as they are back in. the
"auaTium they feel at home. and without
fear swim up TO the attendant that feeds
them as though sixteen weeks had not in
tervened. In many cases fishes follow the
keeper for some distance as he walks
along the side of the pond"
Many more illustrations of memory in
fishes is cited by the author who con-
cludes with the statement that nothing
under the concept of memory. We are
then. in a position to say that vertebrates
so low as fish possess a sort of memory
widely differing, by many gradatiOns from
the memory OF mammals the only sort
hitherto studied, Compared with the lat
ter il is much simpler process, the pc
culiarity Of which lies in the close connec-
ton existing between the irritation and
| the response. Not a single fact forces
upon US the assumption that these simple
processes are accompanied or dominated
. .H..N