Page:Natural History, Fishes.djvu/40

26 and cleanliness in the little Sunny, and observed that at this period it will not seize on any kind of bait, I took it into my head one fair afternoon, to make a few experiments for the purpose of judging how its instinct or reason might induce it to act when disturbed or harassed.

"Provided with a fine fishing-line, and such insects as I knew were relished by this fish, I reached a sand-bar, covered by about one foot of water, where I had previously seen many deposits. Approaching the nearest to the shore with great care, I baited my hook with a living ground-worm, the greater part of which was left at liberty to writhe as it pleased, and throwing the line up the stream, managed it so that at last it passed over the border of the nest, where I allowed it to remain on the bottom. The fish, I perceived, had marked me, and as the worm intruded on his premises, he swam to the farther side, there poised himself for a few moments, then approached the worm and carried it in his mouth over the next side to me, with a care and gentleness so very remarkable, as to afford me much surprise. I repeated the experiment six or seven times, and always with the same result. Then, changing the bait, I employed a young Grasshopper, which I floated into the egg-bed. The insect was removed, as the worm had been, and two attempts to hook the fish were unsuccessful. I now threw my line with the hook bare, and managed as before. The Sunny appeared quite alarmed. It swam to one side, then to another, in rapid succession, and seemed to entertain a fear that the removal of the suspicious object