181 



sale in the London markets, viz., wild-fowl ! Our large Indian lakes, 

 tanks and jeels, at seasons teem with wild-fowl of delicious flavour, 

 and if these birds could be packed whole upon the Australian plan, 

 we have no doubt they would prove a very profitable speculation. 

 To take the Chilka Lake north of Berhampore, as an example. 

 The quantity of wild ducks, teal, snipes, &c., which annually swarm 

 on this immense lake and its tributaries, is so great as to appear 

 incredible to one who has not seen it. We imagine that with pro- 

 per appliances, such as nets, decoys, and an organised staff of 

 shikarries, provided with punts and duck guns, two hundred thou- 

 sand head of wild-fowl might be easily " brought to pot" there in a 

 single season probably more and assuming that each head taken, 

 on an average, to be worth one shilling in the London market a 

 moderate computation, seeing that wild-ducks usually sell there at 

 from seven to ten shillings a brace the value of a season's opera- 

 tions would be 10,000. 

 * # # * # # # 



As of the Chilka, so it may be said of the large Indian Lakes, 

 that they abound with valuable game which is at present turned to 

 little account, but which might be made profitable with attention 

 and capital. If the Australian method of preserving meat by pack- 

 ing it in large cases, and pouring over it melted fat is a success as 

 regards legs of mutton and sirloins of beef, there appears no reason 

 why it should not equally be applicable to game, plucked and 

 cleaned, which would pack better and more compactly. The expe- 

 riment seems worthy of a trial. The modus operandi of preserv- 

 ing wild-fowl by thousands is apparently simple. No expensive 

 buildings are required. A movable camp, some casks of mutton 

 fat, a quantity of block tin, and a corps of shikarries, tinkers, and 

 " pluckers," seems all that is requisite to enable the game to be 

 properly stowed away for shipment to its Western market. Our 

 generation has often wonderingly reflected on the luxurious extra- 

 vagance of the old Romans how they brought oysters from Britain, 

 and peacocks from the East to their banquets, with very limited 

 means for doing so at their disposal. But what Roman Prince, in 

 all the pride of unlimited wealth, ever dreamt of the foreign lux- 

 uries which can furnish a London banquet in the 19th century at 



