100 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
presumably as the fishes are entering from the sea or descending 
from the river. It is rather remarkable that, so far as I know, there 
is no record at Kalutara of moda having been caught in the sea. 
The weight ranges from 1 lb. to 20 lb., and the value from 30 cents 
to Rs. 9. 
Ophiocephalus marulius—This fish, which has been mentioned 
above, attains a larger size than does its relative the lula, reaching 
a weight of 12 to 15 lb. Colonel Gordon Reeves informs me that 
some small fishes called ‘‘gunarow,” 3 to 4 inches long, were sent 
to him in May from Rajjammaana on the Amban-ganga, which 
he took to be the young of O. marulius. He liberated them into 
his stew pond at ‘“ Wiltshire,” Matale. They are described as 
having “large irregular blotches of claret colour on their upper 
parts, more especially towards the tail.” The exact identification 
of these young fishes would be interesting, as nothing is known 
about the reproduction of O. marulius. 
IMPROVEMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES. 
Pisciculture means the preservation of the spawn and fry of fishes, 
the stripping or expressing of ova from mature fishes and their 
artificial fertilization, the prohibition of certain methods of fishing, 
and the regulation of existing fisheries in tanks and rivers. 
There are many instructive analogies between agriculture and 
pisciculture sufficient to justify the conjunction of a Board of 
Agriculture and of Fisheries. The variations in the growth of plants 
according to quality and elevation of soil is comparable with the 
growth of fishes in correlation with the size and latitude of rivers. 
The quantity of fish which can be raised as food in a given bulk of 
water depending upon the area and depth, but above all upon the 
usually unknown richness or poverty of the primary food supply in 
the water, is comparable with the quantity of vegetable food which 
can be raised per acre of ground; and the liability of cultivated 
fishes and plants to fungoid and other pests is another common 
character. Besides these points of correspondence, there are other 
contrasts which should not be lost sight of, ¢e.g., the difficulty of 
transporting the ova of fish as contrasted with the ease with which 
the seeds of plants can be carried about ; the expense of maintaining 
a nursery of young fishes as compared with the automatic working 
of a nursery of young plants; the migratory habits of grown fishes 
as compared with the stationary habits of grown plants. When a 
thousand selected plant seeds are put into the ground, a thousand 
seedlings may germinate on the spot and be subsequently planted 
out; but when a thousand fish fry are emptied into a river or tank, 
they “swim gaily away,” and unless very particular attention is 
paid to them they may never be heard of again. 
Prohibition of certain methods of fishing and the establishment 
of close seasons for certain fishes are difficult measures, which can 
