( 65 ) 



they do in such a way that scarcely anything can escape 

 the traps set in the dam." In British Burma, at Bassein 

 (p. ccxxiii), "young fish are captured to a considerable 

 extent by traps in the paddy-fields :" in fact, fishing weirs 

 and traps are universally employed in this province, and of 

 innumerable descriptions, whilst miniature ones were per- 

 mitted in every small stream, irrigating channel or water- 

 way to entrap fish ascending, and so finely constructed that 

 even fry could not pass. I found agriculturists with as 

 many as 60 or 80 traps in their possession, and working 

 them daily in every water-way where ingress or egress for 

 fish could occur (see p. cxlviii). In short, trapping breeding- 

 fish and fry is universal, wherever permitted, and nowhere is 

 it prohibited. 



Moveable Pishing Implements. 



LXVIII. Nets or moveable implements (in contradis- 



Moveable engiues for taking tinction to those which are fixed), 



fish - employed in capturing or facilitating 



the capture offish, are composed of two varieties— (1) those 

 manufactured of cotton, hemp, aloe fibre, coir, or of some such 

 material, and (2) others constructed of split bamboo, rattan, 

 reed, grass or other more or less inelastic subtances. 



LXIX. Large drag-nets with fair-sized meshes are used 

 a . . x . . , mostly during the dry months, and 



Composed of elastic materials. , " •■ D ^ ,, " „ , . 



employed tor the purpose of clearing 

 out the fish from pools in rivers to which they have retired, 

 awaiting the next year's floods. Thus, in the Godaveri 

 (p. xlvii), they are remarked upon as 100 yards long : in the 

 Kistna as 3 to 400 yards long (p. lxxvi), their length and 

 depth being in accordance with the waters they are going to 

 be employed in. But the moveable nets that do the most 

 injury are those with small meshes, and which are employed 

 for taking the fry of fish as they are first moving about. If 

 one just refers to the appendix to this report, we cannot but 

 observe how such are most wastefully destroyed all over the 

 country ; this is accomplished with cast-nets of fine meshes, 

 small wall-nets dragged up little water-courses, purse-nets 

 similarly used ; even sheets are thus employed. It has been 

 pointed out, however, that some fish never grow to any size, 

 consequently they will escape if nets with small meshes are 

 prohibited, and a very good idea has been propounded that 

 if such is the case, let them be captured after the month of 

 October, so that the majority of the fry have become more 

 able to take care of themselves. In Madras, the Revenue 



E 



