28 The Natural History of the Mahseer. Chapt. in. 



intestines, then he may be sure that he lias got hold of a male 

 with milt. 



The salmon, we know, completely exhausts itself by the mighty 

 effort of laying at one time about as many thousand eggs as it 

 weighs pounds, and it is not surprising that it should then be in 

 such a weak state as to be unfit for human food or sport, unable 

 almost to take care of itself; and even after it has somewhat 

 recovered, and become what is called " well mended," it cannot be 

 expected to be the same fish in the river that it is in the sea. It is 

 a sea-fish, and the river is not its proper element any more than 

 India is yours and mine. It still pines for shrimp sauce and a 

 furlough in the sea. The case with the Mahseer is, however, very 

 different indeed. It gets through its egg laying on the same 

 principle as the fowl, not exactly one egg a day, but in batches at 

 intervals, and does not feel the same drain on itself as if it had laid 

 them all at one time. Moreover.it is all the while in its own 

 element in the river, is getting as good feeding as it can ever have, 

 and is recouping itself between the several layings. The 

 consequence is that I do not remember ever to have come across a 

 Mahseer looking so emaciated as to appear unfit for human food, 

 though I have observed them to be in poorer condition at one time 

 than at another. But that is very different from looking as a spent 

 salmon does, big and bony headed, lank and thin-shouldered, pale 

 and haggard as if he had been to a ball or a pool till small hours 

 every night for a month. It is a general rule that every animal, and 

 for the matter of that every grass, Sec, is in its finest condition 

 when preparing to reproduce its species. A hen is never in better 

 condition than when full of small undeveloped eggs, and about to 

 commence laying them. It may fairly he concluded, therefore, that 

 the Mahseer which is prepared to lay one or two more batches of 

 eggs is in good reproducing condition, is in fact in high condition, 

 although it may have already laid one or more hatches that Beason. 

 When it has completed its spawning for the year it has much 

 deteriorated in flavour and lost all its richness, though it is not 

 unwholesome like a spent salmon. 



A reason for the Mahseer laying in batches may be interesting. 

 Indian rivers are very variable in their depth, a tropical sun and a 

 thirsty land drying up the streams that feed them, and reducing 

 them rapidly to very much smaller dimensions than they boasted 



