6; 



and estuaries in vast multitudes at certain seasons, and 

 from the fact that their European representatives thrive 

 in captivity, these kinds are marked out as specially 

 well adapted for cultural purposes. But this list does 

 not exhaust by any means the number of kinds which 

 appear suitable for culture ; it omits several of the very 

 best, species probably of greater value than the majority 

 of those already named. Principal among these addi- 

 tional species are the various kinds of bamfn or kala 

 (Polynemidae), and the so-called " whiting " of Madras 

 (Sillago spp.) ; the fry of all these frequent estuaries 

 and, according to Day, so also do the young of that most 

 excellent of fish, the white pomfret {Stromateus sinensis). 



At the present time we know almost nothing definite 

 about the habits of Indian sea-fishes ; the acquirement of 

 precise information on this subject in regard to the more 

 esteemed of our food fishes is pressing, and the selection 

 of fishes for the initial culture experiments must be 

 tentative. We have yet to find what fishes will thrive 

 best under the peculiar conditions attendant upon con- 

 finement ; we may easily make a wrong choice ; we have 

 also to find what species may be reared in the same 

 ponds, and we have to learn whether we can depend 

 upon the natural montata or " mounting " of the fry to 

 supply the ponds or whether it will be preferable to 

 hatch fry artificially. 



Two distinct considerations enter into the problem 

 of the selection of species for cultural experiment — the 

 first is hardiness to bear occasional variations in salinity, 

 to endure prolonged confinement, and a diet more 

 restricted perhaps than that normal to the species, the 

 other is the quality of the fish from a table point of view. 

 We have already seen that eels and mullet belong to the 

 first category, but we are ignorant of how far the bamfn, 

 the " whiting " and the white pomfret conform to this re- 

 quirement, and it happens that these latter fishes together 

 with the mullet, are the kinds most esteemed of the whole 

 number available, whereas eels and catfish, hardiest 

 probably of all, are those of least commercial value in 

 India, whatever the former may be for purposes of 

 export. 



A few notes detailing the salient facts of cultural 

 import concerning the species enumerated may usefully 



