CXCl 



358. Tlie rcjilios of the native ofTicials of Bengal liavc mostly- 

 been omitted, whilst those sent are unfor- 

 vc!^/l'nrc. "'' ^"""' """"'''"'' t'.nately more in the gross than iu detail; 



however, I give them as received. 



!ir)!t. The TehsiMars of Durdwnn reply tliat the nimibcr of fisher- 



r\ ■ ■ f w »:,.„ nm ■„!= '"P" 's ahotit 20,000, one-third of whom are 

 Opmions of Native Umcials. i • i i i ■ 



pretty exclusively eniplo3C(l as such ; the 



others follow different occupations as well. The fishermen castes are — ■ 

 1, Koibarta, 2, Keot, 3, Malo, 4, Tiyur, 5, Jelia, G, Hagdi, 7, Dnlia, 

 and 8, Bauri. Nos. 1 to 5 live chiefly on fishing; 6 to 8 ])ly the double 

 occupation of fishermen and pnlki-beaiers, the males following the latter, 

 the females the former pursuit: most of them also till the land. Some 

 men of superior caste angle as a means of recreation. The sniiply of fish 

 is not equal to the demand; if more were brought to the market, they 

 would find a ready sale ; the ([uality is decidedly bad. The amount 

 from the Damnda and other rivers towards the centre of the district is 

 dccidcdl}' limited. The chief supply raa.y be taken from tanks, the water 

 iu which has of late years become bad and poisonous, so much so as 

 to kill the fish. The average price of large fish is 3 annas, of small fish 

 [chuna) from 1^ to 2 annas per seer of 60 tolas. First class bazar mutton 

 lealizes 5 annas, and second sort 3 annas, a seer of the same weight. 

 All classes of people, excepting widows of high-caste Brahmins, Boidus 

 and Kaits, join in the consumption of fish ; probably Of) per cent, are fish- 

 eaters. As to whether the fish in the waters have increased, decreased, 

 or remained stationary of late years, a great diversity of opinion exists, 

 some alleging that the fresh-water fish have decreased, others that the 

 supply has remained stationaiy. During the rains small fish are taken 

 by means of ghoonee and by small nets of fine texture : commnnications 

 are now opened between the rivers and bhecls (swamps), and the small 

 fish are introduced into the latter. At this season the fry of large fish 

 are also caught iu large quantities, by nets called hisal and kkina, 

 m the shoals of the Damnda and the Bhagirutti, with a view to their 

 being transferred and reared in tanks. The smallest meshes em])loycd 

 will not permit a mustard seed to pass. During the rains, a consider- 

 able amount of small fish, chuna, are trap])cd in the irrigated fields 

 by means of glwonee, harh, ara, and hand-nets termed chnukni. 

 This species of fish is consumed by the middle and lower classes of 

 people, and is sold much cheaper than the large fish. The forms 

 of fishing reported are, by nets both large and small ; birtics, a 

 trap made of split bamboos and placed against a current; paliies, 

 made of split bamlwos and resembling a conical shaped basket ; ang- 

 ling and harpooning ; /loari/ and s/ii/r/.i: the first is made of branches 

 of trees and thorns tied together and placed in the river where the 

 current is not strong, small fish take shelter therein, and are taken by 

 means of sliikli or chavhii nets. The names of the other nets, &c., 

 are — har or maha-jal, a large drag-net. Binti-jal, a net fixed to posts 

 in the middle of a river where the water is deep; dara-jal rcsemldes 

 hnr, but is used only in tanks ; khapla, a cast-net. For taking small 

 fish there are the following: — Shinii-jal, resembling khapla, but with 

 smaller meshes; gnnii-jal, stretciied across a tank, and the little fish 

 become entangled by their heads; fela-jal, a lavc-net; chahii-jal, a 



