Chapt. hi. Spavming 0/ Mai 27 



Himiniahing stream warns them t" be moving downwarda There 

 they deposit their Bpawn, and thus secure for theii try, when 

 hatched, waters then dwindled to dimensions much better Baited 

 tn their puny strength than the '1' eper current of tin' lower river, 

 spawning done, the parent fish keep dropping gently down- 

 wards with the continually decreasing waters, and before the 

 spawn they have deposited is hatched, they are completely out nil' 

 by paucity of water from their fry, s.. that till the commencement 

 of thf same monsoon in the following year they cannot return to 

 devour them. 



But they must not, after the manner of aalmon, 1"- considered 

 back fish or foul fish when descending the rivers. Careful 



examination of the ovaries of many fish ha- i me that the 



Mahseer does not spawn like the salmon all at one time, hut just 

 fowl lays an egg a day for many days, ao in my opinion the 

 Mah-eti lays a hatch of eggs at a time, ami repeats the process 

 Beveral time- in a season. How many batches it lays in a season 

 cannot he positively said, hut I Bhould judge from the appeal 

 of the ovaries that tin-re were three batches. 



I 3] ermen can judge lor themselves, and may he interested in 

 doing so. Km- this purpose cut tie- fish open from the vent to the 

 mouth, ami the ovaries will be found lying close against the back- 

 bone. There is no mistaking' them, a thin skin, more like a quill in 

 size than anything else at first, with the little round dots of 

 evidently apparent through. That these are in states of development 

 differing anion;,' themselves in any individual fish will be easily 

 recognizable; but which are more or less approaching complete 

 ripeness for being laid, can only be learnt by the experience gained 

 from comparison of different fishes. When nearly ripe the 1 

 will be banging more loosely together, and the vent will be 

 inflamed. After a hatch has been laid the lower part of the tail, 

 and the ventral tin. or the tin mi the stomach, will he more or less 

 worn, bearing marks, in short, of having been used to workout a 

 hollow in the gravel for the reception of eggs. This ragged frayed 

 appearance of tail and tin will indicate, therefore, that one or mure 

 hatches of eggs have been laid, although others for future laying 



may still he found in different stages of development in tl varies. 



if tin- fisherman sees no eggs in tin- long thin quill-like bag 

 lying against the hack-hone, between it in fact ami the 



