198 Records of the Indian Museum. [VoL. XVIII, 
ends of the horizontal pole and two other ropes fixed to the 
upper end of the upright ones. The four men waded along in the 
water. The awkwardness of the apparatus lay in the fact that 
unless all of the men moved. together the upper ends of the two 
poles fell towards one another and the net refused to work 
properly. 
We were told that around Nasratabad the favourite method 
of fishing was for men to go out into the swamps in the flood- 
season with swords and to strike at any fish they saw. Our 
informant, who had had great experience of the country, said 
that quite large fish were killed in this way. 
In the Helmand River in the east of Seistan a more elaborate 
method of fishing is apparently practised. The following notes 
are taken from an official document. The author of part of these 
notes believes that the fish captured belongs to the genus Schizo- 
thorax. ‘There is a singlespecimen of S. zavudnyi in thecollection of 
the Seistan Arbitration Commison from the Helmand, but the largest 
fish caught by the author of the note weighed 12 lb., which is much 
heavier than any fish seen in the Hamun-i-Helmand. Schizothorax 
would seem to be the only genus of fish captured for food in Seistan. 
“‘SEISTANI FISHING NET. 
““The net used is a bag about 7:0’ long 9” diameter at the 
lower end and 6’X 2’ wide at the mouth. The net is held open by 
a pair of poles or prongs tied together at one end to make a fork. 
The fork pivots on a post on the bank. ‘The fisherman sits on 
a platform. Across the mouth of the net fine lines are arranged, 
the lead string of which the fisherman holds in his hand to get 
timely warning that a fish has entered the net, whereupon he 
pulls the net up and removes the fish. The fork that holds the 
net is held in position by the strain of guy ropes. The net is 
placed on the bank near a pool at a place where there is a swirl or 
back water so as to intercept the fish moving along the edge of the 
bank ; sometimes it is put up across the mouth of a small canal ; 
a shallow channel is sometimes obstructed by a line of stakes 
along which the fish move till they come to the opening where the 
net is arranged and are caught. Below the Band-i-Seistan the net 
is arranged opposite a small leak in the Band and fish moving 
along the down stream face of the band are swept into the net by 
the force of the current at this place. 
The favourite spots for the big fish are in the slack back 
water close to where the backwater meets the force of the down 
flowing current. At such places the small fry, which at certain 
seasons work their way up the river in thousands swimming as 
close to the bank as possible, are checked by the current and fall 
au easy prey to the larger fish which feed on them ravenously. 
The autumn is the best season for fishing operations of this 
nature. The season of I903 commenced as early as August and 
continued for several weeks. In 1904 it was late in September 
