The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1902-03-07
SENSITIVE TO SOUND
ACUTE POWERS OF HEARING WITH
WHlcAFlsH ARE ENDOWED.

some InterestInE Experiments That
Were Made 10 Determine Just What
Manner Of Noise. or Motions Would
startIe Trout.
There are three phases Of sense in
iish particularly interesting to the an
eler-their exquisite powers Of hearing.
of seeing and their subtle, abnormal
sensitiveness to atmospheric influence.
with all our experience and study 1t is
doubtful II we have arrived at any
thing Ike full estimate of the acute
sensItiyeness with which fish are en-
lowed. ] devote this article to hear
ing. BY hearing must obviously be
understood TO mean their power of APP
preciating the vibration caused by
!: sound, the conductor being either solid,
SaierIal or liquid.
In man sound detonates the eardrum.
and in that way when we are under
water we discover little Ineligible
meaning from sounds. But the same
vibrations are undoubtedly received by
the exquisitely sensitive hearing intel
Hsence of fish. if l may use the
term. In different and far more I'M
pressive way. BY intelligence mean
nm instructive recognition by their
bodies of some disturbance, just as
man recognizes a passing breath of air.
II takes the form of feeling.
came to the conclusion that l
would make few experiments. Here
are one or two facts: a friend entered
Z into it with me. and we bethought our
selves of certain well known trout in
soui. preserve which were always
there" Then we placed thatched hur-
dies a day or two beforehand SO that
the fish might get accustomed TO them
in such way that we could approach
close to their haunts without being
seen and watch the unsuspecting trout
through q small hole cut in the straw.
When one was not at home, the other
generally was. My friend undertook
the noise making. l the observation.
From the sound OF gunshot 500
Yards away, which made our trout dis
tinctly start, 10 the breaking Of twis
three yards from the fish, which did
the same, we tried all kinds Of sounds.
-shrill and dull and Mt varying dis
,tances, and the sum OF our experiments
convinced US OF this: That our sensi-
lively organized friends felt the dis
placements OF molecules through ether,
which we call sound. and the further
vibrating disturbance through what we
cali water, which I verify believe con-
ducts sensation to the fish as readily
Ms glass permits the penetration of
light to this paper. in proportion to the
distances and the character OF the
sound. but that they did hear or feel
rather. and with incredible QuclSness.
TOO. was conclusively demonstrated.
What they heard and We're not alarn-
ed at cannot tell. but when they were
alarmed it was evident enough by the
same kind of start they give when their
chief enemy suddenly peeps over the
bank. In only two cases could / dis
cover actual fright. the fright that
sends them down-a gunshot behind
the hurdle and heavy stamp OF the
foot near by. 1t is noteworthy that the
shril sounds seemed TO startle them
most. For instance. a policeman's whis-
Tie at ten yards sent one out Into the
stream as il looking about for some
source of danger. whereas IA shout at
the same distance caused no detected
movement. Their way Of shifting u
little farther from the bank WHEN they
have an inkllng of danger is "a very
pretty aide movement. well known no
To-, f1,a nj
watching the bunk ut better angle.
The common manner of slowing
their alarm was by sudden culver.
sometimes followed by sinking down
an inch or two, as much as 10 say.
whats up?' very much doubt II !
ever crept up to my peephole without
being detected, and yet ! was careful.
for. if you notice. trout once on the
qui yIve gives no sign of alarm al q
second movement or noise. Once pre-
pared he Is immovable till he suddenly
darts or. You may throw your great
coat at him. and he either braveslt stol-
idly or bolts cleans away. Five minutes
perfect stiffness and they settle back TO
confidence. and then they were again
easily startled. fancy the laws Of re-
fraction had something to do with 1t
and that even from the sky they some
times perceived my movements. ! had
often suspected this before.
Another conclusion: ] believe they
heard much they appeared not to. A
sudden smack Of the hands together.
and there was decided CULVER, but
bird rattle. begun very softly and grad
uaily brought up to It's very oudest.
and no notice seemed to be taken But
doubtless, ike ourselves. however loud
the noise. the gradient robs 1t Of its
stnrtle. However fanciful 1T may
sound. of this am thoroughly con-
vinced-that water is such an immedi-
ate. transmitter Of vibration to fish that
they recognize sound from the air near-
~ as quickly as man. 1t is no argu-
ment to say we do not when in it. We
have no need. Fish have. And be-
cause they have they are providentially
endowed with ACKNOWLEDGMENT that
particular nervous influence among
hers.--London Field.
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T)r<,,, 80, ~ II, r.. ,.,,c4 n(fira ond 4.