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a second species, S. panijns, readily adapt themselves to 

 brackish water ; they are fond of ascending tidal rivers 

 and of living in backwaters. They are compact little fish 

 seldom reaching a foot in length but esteemed amongst 

 the most wholesome of the fish brought into Madras 

 market. Special attention should be given to these fish 

 in any cultural experiments that may be attempted in 

 backwater ponds. 



Smelts. — As food for carnivorous fishes such as eels 

 and polynemids, smelts will occupy an almost indispen- 

 sable position in the economy of Indian fish-farms. They 

 belong to the genus Atherina of which several species 

 are found in abundance in Indian waters. Like their 

 congeners in Europe, they affect backwaters and estuaries 

 in shoals of immense numbers during the fry stage, which 

 occurs during the cold season. Thus on Christmas day 

 1 90S, the Ennore backwater was literally alive with the 

 fry of Atherina forskali ranging in size from f to 

 1 inch in length. Children were catching them in large 

 quantities by the simple expedient of sieving water 

 through their cloths. A push- net used in the shallows 

 at this season would supply ponds of polynemids with 

 enough food to last them for months. 



Flatfish, — Certain of the Indian species of flatfishes 

 are capable of thriving in brackish water, notably several 

 of the tongue soles, Cynoglossus spp. and the plaice-like 

 Pseiidorhombus arsius. These are prime table fish, and 

 as soon as a preliminary investigation shall have made us 

 acquainted with their breeding habits and the nature of 

 their habitual food, we shall be in a position to rear them 

 in quantities to adult size. Immature individuals are 

 caught at times in immense numbers in many of the 

 West Coast backwaters, and these catches should prove 

 invaluable to enable ponds to be stocked with fish which 

 have already emerged successfully from the myriad 

 dangers that beset them as fry. 



Catfishes, especially of the genera Arius and Mac- 

 rones > would live and thrive well in mud-bottomed ponds, 

 but their market value is so trivial that it would not pay 

 to rear them in confinement, indeed vigilance will have to 

 be exercised to ensure their exclusion. 



The list above given by no means exhausts the 

 number of species which appear capable of living and 



