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

Some Interesting Experiments That
Were Made 10 Determine just What
Manner of Noises or Motions Would
starfle Trout.
/ There are three phases of sense In
\ ash particularly interesting to the an
sler-their exquisite powers of hearing,
sof seeing and their subtle. abnormal
sensitiveness to atmospheric influence.
With all our experience and study 1t Is
doubtful IL we have arrived Mt any
thing like a full estimate of the acute
.serisitiveness 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.
&1erlal 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 cxquisitely sensitive hearing intel
llgence of fish, IL / may use the
term, in different and far more I'M
kpressive way. BY intelligence ! mean
ian instructive recognition by their
y bodies of some disturbance. just as
man recognizes passing breath of air.
It takes the form Of feeling.
I came to the conclusion that i
would make few experiments. Here
are one or two facts: \ friend entered
into 1T with me. and we bethought our
selves of certain we'll known trout in
our preserve which We're always
there" Then we placed matched 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 a small hole cut in the straw.
When one was not ut home, the other
generally was. My friend undertook
the noise making, the observation.
From the sound of a gunshot 500
yards away, which made our trout dis
tlnctly start, to the breaking Of twig
three yards from the fish. which did
the same, we tried all kinds of sounds.
shrfll and dull and at 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
call water, which verify believe con.
ducts sensation 10 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 quickness.
too. was conclusiyely demonstrated.
What they heard and We're not alarm.
ed al 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 Il heavy stamp of the
foor near by. II is noteworthy that the
shrill sounds seemed TO startle them
most. For Instance, policeman's whis-
Tie at ten yards sent one out into the
stream as il looking about for some
source of danger. whereas shout at
tile same distance caused no detected
movement. Their way of shifting a
little farther from the bank when they
have an inSling Of danger is very
pretty aide movement. well known no
doubt. 1t seems for the purpose Of
watching the bank at a better angle.
The common manner of showing
their alarm was by sudden culver.
sometimes followed by sinking down
an inch or two, us much as TO say.
whats upw very much doubt II
ever crept up to my peephole without
being detected. and yet was careful.
for, II you notice, trout once on the
qui yive gives no sign of alarm at
second movement or noise. Once pre-
pared he Is imnovable till he suddenly
darts of. You may throw your great
{ cont at him. and he either braves 1t stol-
z 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
andthat 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 a
bird rattle. begun very softly and grad
1uaily brought up to it's very Ioudest,
and no notice seemed to be taken. But
doubtless, like ourselves. however loud
the noise, the gradient robs 1t Of its
startle. However fancifui it may
sound. of this ] am thoroughly con-
s yinced-that water is such an immedi-
atetransmitter of vibration to fish that
they recognize sound from the mir near
ly as quickly as man. 1t is no argu-
ment to say we do not when in 1t. We
have no need. Fish have. And be-
cause they have they are providentially
endowed withsupersensitive to that
particular nervous influence among
others.--London Field,
-----7----.s = s.-------------
a = ~