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across fclio streams not roiil(Hl as fisheries" is necessary, it is ilifTuMilt 

 to seo why periniLtiiig' their entirely blockinir rentotl sfroains can bo 

 any tiling but injurious, especially us they only allow water to pass, 

 stopping- every fish. Liicewise at present fixed traps, nets, &c., 

 prevent migrating breeiling-lish from freely obtaining ingress to, or 

 egress from, the inundated plains, and the mesh is so small that the 

 most minute fry are entrapped; surely these ought to be prohibited or 

 subject to some regulation as to the size of the mesh which is employed. 

 This mode of fishing is entirely illeg;il in Great Britain.] The Deputy 

 Commissioner, Amherst District (July llth, 187i) replies that the answers 

 of four of his most ex))erienced native otficials (inyo-olces') are unanimous 

 in saying that the supply of fish brought to the bazars is not equal to tlie 

 demand. Breeding-lish and fry are destroyed to a very great extent 

 in the district, most so " at the commencement of the rains, when 

 breeding-fishes migrate to spawn : in this condition the fish are said 

 by the Burmans to be utterly reckless as regards capture, and passively 

 allow themselves to be taken in very great numbers. Those fish which 

 escape this critical period spawn in shallow water, from which, generally 

 speaking, the small fiy have little chance of returning to the larger 

 streams. Another cause of wholesale destruction is the practice of 

 uurostricted fishing, that is to say, the indiscriminate use of traps, 

 nets, and dams, by which fish of every kind are caught, with 

 regard only to present wants rather than the probability of future 

 scarcity." The smallest mesh of nets used is \ an inch between 

 each knot; the diniculty in regulating it would depend upon the 

 nature of the regulations themselves. Any sudden restriction upon 

 the present means of supply would cause great inconvenience, and 

 temporary misery, perhaps, to the poorer classes, because the staple food 

 of a whole people would for a time be sensibly diminishcl, and the 

 revenues would temporarily deteriorate; the smaller kinds of fish in tanks, 

 jhils, and paddy-fields would become a prey to birds instead of food for 

 man. Ql'liis, of course, only refers to those pieces of water wiiich are not 

 perennial, in whicli, after all communication between them and the rivers 

 lias ceased, they gradually dry up, and the fish, unless taken by man, 

 would die or be eaten by the lower animals]. ' The supply in the liazars 

 now is unequal to the demand ; regulations would decrease the present 

 supply, although they would eventually increase it. If possible, w<>nld 

 prohibit the capture of the fry of those s|)ecies which grow to a large size, 

 especially of the "Nga-yans" ^Ophiocephalus striatus^ ; and if their posses- 

 sion or sale under a certain weight and size were declared penal, some 

 stop might be put to its indiscriminate capture, and the result would be 

 a great increase in the present food-supply." ffhis course I do not think 

 could be carried out ; it is true that this is a most valuable fish and 

 attains 3 feet or more in length, whilst the young ate killed in 

 jiumbers as small fry, but the jiractical difficulty would be as follows : — 

 There are several species of Ophiocephaliis, termed thus, with one or two 

 words added to show which is meant. Generally "Ngi-j-an" was tiie large 

 Ophioceplialiis strialus, but near Henzada it was termed "Nga-yan-pa-nan." 

 The Opkiocephalns punctalns, which closely resembles the last species, 

 excepting that, though very liroad, it rarely, if ever, exceeds a foot in 

 length, al this place was termed " Nga yan-thin-ohu," whilst the perhaps 



