Ixv 



liills, wiilioiil, jiasj^i's, lilicwiso cxeicisc tlio siimo (.Iclot-erious clFools ; aliio 

 (Iiyiiig oil' iiriL;;':i(.i()ii raiials. Sccondli/, (isli iliiriiif^' tlio nionsooii lime 

 IVtMjuciitrly migrate lor Iirccdiiip;' purposes, ami ol'tcii into |)oii(Is tliafc 

 aro not ])orc'mual ; it cous(>(|iioiitly occurs that slioukl the floods cease 

 before tliey can reg'ain tlie rivers, their retreat is cut ofl', and witli tiie 

 evaporation of the waters tlicy arc captured. Thirdli/, and niueli more 

 elfectually, by the use of (ixed cng-ines as cruivcs or traps made of 

 wicker work, and placed in every run where fisli are likely to ascend to 

 breed or to return after liaving done so. Or in the form of fisliiiig weirs 

 across whole streams and minor rivers in which not a sing'le means of 

 passini;;' is left, tlio only ifaps beinfj wlicre a ciuive or trap is fixed. 

 Foiirtlifi/, by poisonini;;' the water both in rivers and ponds. 



13^3. Arc l/ic J'r/f hiUcil lo any extent nilien jnsl niorini) ahout ? 



, . , Evidently they are, and in every district, by 



liUus"; .nodes uinnncralea. the second, thud and fourth means by whicli 



the breeding fish (para. l.'}2) have been stated 

 to be destroyed. Besides this, nets of minute meshes are employed, and 

 what should be the succeeding year's supply is cut off. In some irrigated 

 fields, if there were not fixed traps in every opening and fall, these fry 

 might return to the rivers in the waste water, provided open channels were 

 left iierniittiiig them to do so (sec para. 109); in other places the water is 

 entirely expended on the field, and if the fry once get access, they must 

 be dest4'oyed as eva|ioratii)ii takes place. 



I'ii. As to the Viirioita viet/unls resorted to for cuptnring psfi, they arc 



almost innumerable. Witliout describing the 



Mini..,.,,,, .i/.,. of tl,o ...osl. r,f ji(p^,,p„t ^-^^^^^ ,,(■ „gtc,, ,.,„ important (uiestion 



,.,„ives. "^) wliat IS the minimum size ol tlic mesh- 



es of those employed in the fresh waters? As 

 fir as can be calculated from the answers received from IS Tchsildars 

 (ii- suboriliiiate ollieials, eitlicr the minimum size of the meshes in use 

 or the usual .size niay be thus tabulated : — the size of a finger or thumb 

 4 : of a pie 1 ; of one-fourth of an anna 1 ; of a two-anna l.it 1 ; of one- 

 fourth of a rujiec 1 ; of luilf a rupee 1 ; of one inch 3 ; of half an inch ; 

 of one-fourth of an inch 8; of one-eighth of an inch 8; of one-tenth of 

 an inch I; of one sixteentli of an inch I; of the size of a grain of 

 ilholl, gram, a pe|)per corn or tamarind seed, 11; such as would 

 ensnare an ant 1. In most of the portions of the Mailras Presidency 

 1 have visited, tlic meshes of the nets used for capturing fry during 

 the monsoons would be almost or quite sufficiciilly minute lo be 

 employed as moscpiito curtains. The cruivcs or traps may be defined as 

 snllieient to only permit water being strained through. Weirs have but 

 little wider interstices between the substances of which (hey are con- 

 Ktriietcd. Simply the prohibition of poisoning the rivers in South Canara 

 fur two years and forbidiling the einiiloyment, therein of ernives the 

 interstices of which would not permit a linger (Jths of an inch) to jiass, 

 resulted in a vast extension of the fish and fisheries (see jiara. If!!)). 



lo5. Trai.ping breeding fishes and young ones appi'ars to be the 



rule; fishing weirs exist in many places, 



\V,i.s, fixed cngi.ics, d.im.ni.ig especially across those streams which are in 



nnd li.d.i.pr o.it i.icees of wiitcr, .i • • •. <• i ■ii i 



,.„d U,e use of I'oisu,,. the Vicinity of or upon hills, because many 



species of fish resort there to deposit their eggs 



