22 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XII, 



most serviceable owing to her high speed and fine towing power. 

 Her consumption of oil is heavy however and compares unfavour- 

 ably with that of the semi-Diesel ' Dan ' engines in the Pearl and 

 Sutherland. The fishing lugger Turbinella is being refitted for 

 deep-sea fishing experiments to be carried on off Tuticorin and 

 Negapatam. 



40. Experimental Trawling. — The proposals to obtain a sea-going 

 steam vessel able to carry out experimental trawling off Cape 

 Comorin, along the Malabar Coast and north of Madras have been 

 revived and are now under investigation. The Marine Assistant 

 and I under instruction from Government inspected three steel 

 trawlers now under construction by Messrs. Burn & Co., Calcutta, 

 and three composite mine-sweepers built at the Indian Marine Dock- 

 yard, Kidderpore. None proved suitable, the former being without 

 sufficient cabin accommodation and the latter with inadequate 

 deck space for trawl operations. 



Inland Piscicultural Section. 



41. Soon after assuming charge of the Directorate I arranged 

 to take over the direct control of this section, Mr. Sundara Raj 

 reverting to his substantive post of Piscicultural Assistant. In 

 this, however, he has now much more responsibility than originally ; 

 he has charge of the whole of the executive work and his duties 

 include the drafting of the details of new schemes after the main 

 lines have been decided upon by the Director. Extensive tours 

 have been made by myself in Kurnool, Nellore and North Arcot, 

 and by the Piscicultural Assistant and his Sub-Assistant in these 

 and other districts. 



42. Fish-farms and Acclimatization. — We have at present three 

 piscicultural establishments where fish for the stocking of tanks 

 and other waters are bred. These are at Sunkesula, Ippur and 

 the old Powder Factory in Madras. Others at Chingleput, Mopad 

 and Vellore are contemplated. The fish upon which efforts are 

 now being concentrated are the Gourami and Etroplus suratensis. 

 The Gourami (Osphromenus gourami) is an exotic species foreign 

 to India, but much esteemed in Java where it is bred in large 

 numbers. It has been introduced with notable success into 

 the ponds and streams of Mauritius. We have now breeders 

 obtained both from the latter island and from Java and these 

 are distributed among the three fish farms at present available. 



