clxxv 



j'oar. TIio kinds of nets i^eiiorally used are as follows: — glioonown, 

 a common cast-net, with a nu-sh onc-tliivd of an ineli, made of cotton 

 tlnead; hhukkowa, a larger kind, with a mesh cf one-half inch, and 

 constructed of hemp string; puniii, a drag-uet for small fish, made of 

 cotton thread, with a mesh to one-third of an inch ; ghnsecfa, a larger 

 sort, of hemp, and meshes of one inch ; jnleea, a not, with meshes of 

 one-third of an inch, is strctdu-d between two bamhoos, and dragged 

 along by two men ; julka, a lar^o drag-net, with equnlly small mcslics, 

 made partly of cotton, and partly of hemp ; knrhnra, a still laiger 

 one, with meshes of one inch ; biii/iore, used in iiallas ; it is made of 

 cotton thread, and has meshes one-third of an inch and less; tuppar, 

 is a net fixed at the bottom of a l)amboo cane frame, which the fisher- 

 man uses in shallow water, its mesh is one-third of aw inch ; koorcha, 

 a conical basket open at both ends. In the Bijiiour Collectorate, the 

 Ti'Jisililars report that there are about 12 or 1,300 fisiiermen, all of wliotn 

 ]iursuc other occupations as well. There are (1) Mussulman Kahars, also 

 (2) Hindu Kahars, (3) Buttiaras, (J) Joolihas, (.5) Mullahs, (0) Sir- 

 kliooles, a wandering gipsy trilie. The supply in the local markets is 

 insufticient, more fish could be sold : it is eaten from between 50 to 00 

 per cent, of the people, viz., all Mussulmen, and all Hindus except 

 Brahmins, Banias, Sonars, carjienters, black-smiths, Bislinoecs, and 

 Goojurs. About 2,700 maiinds offish arc computed to l)e yearly consumed; 

 the amount in the waters has decreased of lato years : small ones are 

 taken during the rnins by nets, damming streams, and letting the water 

 carefully off so as not to permit the escnpe of any, or should an opening be 

 left for the passnge of the water, a net is fixed across it ; lastly, 

 by digging holes close to the edge of a stream, and filling them with 

 rotton shig/iaras, the smell of which attracts tire fish, and they jump in. 

 The miuimum-si7.cd mesh employed equals that of the holes in an atlah 

 (flour) sieve. Fish are trapped in the irrigated fields dining the rains. 

 338. In the Benares Division, the Tc/isiMars of Goiuckpnr report 



that three- fourths of the ]ioi)ulation catfish. 

 Answers of Native Ofliciius i r ,\ , i-i.ii i ■ r -i 



in the Benares Division. ""^1 ,^".'"^"'^ ^^"^ ^'^^^^^ "l^^^? ^^' t'>? <-l"cf ''em 



of then- diet ; none avoid it entirely except 

 the Agurwallas and Khutrocs, and the class of persons called Biingats or 

 " abstainers," who entirel_y abstain from animal food. The sect of 

 Vaishnavars are all " abstainers," and so are several castes Ijelongiug to 

 the Sliivas. The poorest dnsscs cat small fish instead of meal or flour 

 of any kind. It is calculated that llH,0!1(i mauuds of fish are yearly 

 consumed in this district. Scarcely any class of people are solely fisher- 

 men, and even they are also boatmen or ngriculturists, but a large num- 

 ber of castes emjtloy themselves in it more or less. One Tchsildar reports 

 the supply in the markets as equnlling the demand, but five othera 

 state deficiency to exist. The Tehsildars of Bustee observe the fishermen 

 follow other occupntions as well. Men in almost every village catch 

 fish, more or less, according (o their opportunities. They also cultivate 

 land near the waters which become exposed as the floods subside, or else 

 lake a lease of the water produce. ^VIlerc, ns at Bukhra, the lake is of 

 very large extent, some members of the family will be entirely occupied 

 in fishing, or in gathering the reeds, whilst others devote themselves to 

 the fields ou the shore. In other cases, cultivation may be tiie primary. 



