X Report on the Zoological Survey of India 



known to science in the strong development of the bone and fin of 

 the tail. This is one of several very curious little fish of extremely 

 small size that have hitherto escaped the attention of ichthyologists. 

 Most of them are remarkable not only in structure, but also for 

 their brilliant colouration. Bright colouration, indeed, is characteristic 

 of the fish-fauna of the lake as a whole and is probably correlated 

 with the transparency of the water. 



The molluscs of the Inle Lake are hardly less remarkable than 

 the fish. For some reason they have as a rule many of the characters 

 of deep-water forms. A group of pond-snails is further interesting 

 not only on account of the bizarre shape and bright colour of their 

 shells, but also because of the fact that an almost complete series of 

 transitional forms between them and almost normal forms was found 

 in different parts of the lake, in smaller bodies of water and fossil in 

 the surrounding country. When fully illustrated, this series should 

 take its place among the most remarkable instances yet discovered 

 of variation correlated with environment. 



Our tour to the Inle Lake was the only one in which we attempted 

 anything of the nature of ethnographical research. There I ob- 

 P hical work gained two collections of considerable interest, 



in the Southern Shan one illustrating the apparatus used in fishing — 

 States. fish-spears, nets and traps ; the other that 



employed in weighing agricultural produce and dried fish in the local 

 markets. The fishing apparatus, though it includes some interesting 

 types, is not very remarkable. So far as possible I collected a 

 duplicate set of specimens for the new Imperial Museum which is 

 to be built in Delhi some day, as well as a first set for the Indian 

 Museum. 



The weighing-beams, scales and weights have a greater general 

 interest on account of their strange diversity and primitive character. 

 Most weighing apparatus depends on the principle of leverage, but 

 three main types of construction may usually be recognized among 

 the contrivances of primitive people. They are (i) the scales, in 

 which the object to be weighed is suspended from one end of a rigid 

 beam and balanced against " weights " from the other ; (ii) the 

 steelyard, in which the object to be weighed is suspended from one 

 end of a beam but balance is attained by shifting a single weight 

 along the latter ; and (iii) the weightless beam or hismer, in which 

 there are no moveable or detachable weights, balance being attained 

 by shifting the position relative to the centre of the beam of the 

 point of suspension. All these types are to be found in use in the 

 Inle bazars, and also a fourth type (Plates C, D) resembling the 

 hismer but with a moveable scale-pan instead of a moveable point of 

 suspension. The bismers differ from those used in many parts of 

 India (and also in the Scandinavian countries of Europe) in that they 

 possess a series of fixed suspending strings instead of a loop that 

 can be moved along a scale on the beam. This form is perhaps 

 peculiar to those parts of Eastern Asia in which Tai (Shan or 

 Siamese) influence exists i I have seen it myself among the Siamese 



