t. Of the perfect accuracy with which the singular facts above
related have been given, no doubt will be entertained when it is
mentioned that the writer was one of a party of five intelligent
persons, by all of whom they were most carefully observed, and the
impressions of all of whom in regard to them were uniform. It is
supposed that the fish are confined to particular localities--shallows,
estuaries, and muddy creeks, rarely visited by Europeans; and that this
is the reason why hitherto no mention, so far as we know, has been made
of the peculiarity in any work on Natural History."

This communication elicited one from Vizagapatam, relative to "musical
sounds like the prolonged notes on the harp" heard to proceed from under
water at that station. It appeared in the _Bombay Times_ of Feb. 13,
1849.]

Certain fishes are known to utter sounds when removed from the water[1],
and some are capable of making noises when under it[2]; but all the
circumstances connected with the sounds which I heard at Batticaloa are
unfavourable to the conjecture that they were produced by either.

[Footnote 1: The Cuckoo Gurnard (_Triglia cuculus_) and the maigre
(_Sciaena aquila_) utter sounds when taken out of the water (YARRELL,
vol. i. p. 44, 107); and herrings when the net has just been drawn have
been observed to do the same. This effect has been attributed to the
escape of air from the air bladder, but no air bladder has been found in
the _Cottus_, which makes a similar noise.]

[Footnote 2: The fishermen assert that a fish about five inches in
length, found in the lake at Colombo, and called by them "_magoora_,"
makes a grunt when disturbed under water. PALLEGOIX, in his account of
Siam, speaks of a fish resembling a sole, but of brilliant colouring
with black spots, which the natives call the "dog's tongue," that
attaches itself to the bottom of a boat, "et fait entendre un bruit
tres-sonore et meme harmonieux."--Tom. i. p. 194. A _Silurus_, found in
the Rio Parana, and called the "armado," is remarkable for making a
harsh grating noise when caught by hook or line, which can be distinctly
heard when the fish is beneath the water. DARWIN, _Nat. Journ._ ch. vii.
Aristotle and AElian were aware of the existence of this faculty in some
of the fishes of the Mediterranean. ARISTOTLE, _De Anim_., lib. iv. ch.
ix.; AELIAN, _De Nat. Anim._, lib. x. ch. xi.; see also PLINY, lib. ix.
ch. vii.. lib. xi. ch. cxiii.; ATHENAEUS, lib. vii. ch.