( 15 ) 



of trees grow into them, fisliing has usually to be carried oq 

 by means of traps, angling, or spearing. 



Tub Tisiies of the EnEsn-wATEus. 



XXV. The fishes which arc chiefly useful as food in 



the fresh-waters of India belong to 



Fresh-water fislios. ,, ■• -,, , , . • 11 • "i™ 



the order Fhi/sostomi, especialiy \n its 

 silm'oid, cyprinoid and herring families, as well as those which 

 arc included in the oy(\g\: Acanthoptcrijgii, sub-divided by some 

 anthors into two. The other orders wiiich furnish examples 

 to the fresh-waters arc only employed as food by the very 

 poorest classes, or even entirely rejected. (A list of the 

 fresh-water fishes is appended, para. 430). 



XXVI. Another mode of dividing the fishes which fre- 



quent the fresh-waters of India is into 

 fisi.es. Breeding ones imiygii- the migratorj) and non-mKjralonj . 

 moiis or mouogauious. Seasons gome of tlic migratory forms (as 

 otbreecmg, Barhus (ov) ascend the hill strean:\s 



from the rivers of the plains for breeding purposes : or 

 tliose which never leave the i)lains, although thoy belong 

 to this division, may be marine (as Clupea palasah) : or 

 entirely fresh-water species (as several of the carps). 

 Migrations in adult fish are cifected for breeding or pre- 

 daccous purposes, or to obtain some peculiarly desirable 

 description of food. There are also, as already ol)scrved, the 

 " non-migratory" fishes both in the waters of the hills, as some 

 loaches and small siluroids, or in those of the plains, as the 

 Ambassis, &c. Lastly, the breeding-fish will have to be con- 

 sidered, the majority of wliich appear to be ])olygamous, but 

 some arc monogamous: whilst the time of year at whicli they 

 deposit their eggs varies with seasons and localities, the mi- 

 gratory forms almost invariably selecting the monsoou 

 time. 



XXVII. In the sub-class Teleostei, the spiny-rayed or 



Aeantlmpteryginn or spiny- ACANTUOrTERYGIAN OrdcrS of fisllCS, 



rayed order of fishes. j,i'c uot fouud. iu any gi'cat nxunbcrs 



in tlie inland fresh-waters of India, but are mostly confined 

 to the plains, cither within or but a short distance removed 

 from tidal reach, or above the sea level. Tlie larger the river, 

 the greater the prol)abiliiy of tlicso fishes extending their 

 range up it. There are some genera which possess species 

 tliat are able to exist some time after their removal from the 

 Avatcr, and even to dive down and remain in tlie nuid of 

 tanks during the dry season, rc-appeariiig with the returning 



