PISCATORIAL METEOROLOLOGISTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16751, 5 June 1922, Page 7

PISCATORIAL METEOROLOLOGISTS.

It. is known among fisher-folk that fish can foretell the weather. For long before any haroinefcer has indicated the approach of rain, one can see salmon and other fish l>ehaving in the most excited wav. They roll about, splashing on the top of the water, and*at times leap high out of it. The reason is that the body of every fish, with the exception ol fiat-fish, such as soles, plaice, turbot, and a few othe rs. con tains a large bag of - very thin skin, called the swim-bladder. This bladder is tightly filled with air. and as soon n-s the slightest change occurs in the pressure of the atmosphere the air in his swim-bladder informs the fish of it. If it feels uncomfortably tight, then the barometer is falling. It is the discomfort caused by the enlarging of the swim-bladder that makes the fish so restless on the approach of rain. hike fish, birds carry their own barometerl;. 'l'lie bones of a bird are not filled with marrow; they are hollow, it is true, but the space within them is filled with air. And there are other air reservoirs in a bird’s body. Flying is such hard work that an extra supply of air is needed to keep the blood in proper condition, and these reservoirs contain a kind of “emergency ration” of air that can be used as it is required.