Chapt. x. Naming Ind 119 



mouthed Carps feed differently from the large-mouthed, and 

 must necessarily be fished for differently ; and hints for the taking 

 of the Mahseer would only lead to disappointment if applied to 

 the hero of this chapter, under the impression thai it was much 

 the same fish. Indeed, I know cases in point, of fishermen who 

 confounded them, and consequently confounded their style of 

 fishing, with the result that they did m is much sport as if 



they had critically adapted their manner of fishing to the fish 

 they sought One of these was also no mean master of the salmon 

 wand. But they did not vary their fishing with their fish, they 

 Used Large flies when' tiny should have used small, and small Hies 

 where they should have used larger ones; and they threw a fly 



where they should have spun, and race Dtrsd; and they sou-lit lor 

 both rish in like [daces, whereas they should have chiefly tried the 

 dee], pools ;l iid gentle eddies in the one case, and the runs in the 

 other. All this came of their thinking them both Mahseer; and 

 as they had caught the Mahseer in such and such a way, they 

 thought they could do so again. Now it would make me unhappy 

 if you did the same, if you should call this fish a Mahseer, and 

 you should apply to him all the advice given in the " Bod in India" 

 about the Mahseer, and should consequently be disappointed in 

 your fishing, and perhaps angry with your faithful mentor, and 

 that, too, after all the pains taken with your education. " But why 

 cannot you call him a Chub," you say. True, he is more like a 

 ('huh than a Carp in his ways. But then he would not stand 

 alone, there would he other claimants for the title of Chub, or 

 Barbel, or Roach, or Bleak, or Dace, or Rudd, and I should only 

 mislead you by indicating a similitude which was not close enough, 

 and which had more than one claimant, for there are about sixty 

 kinds of Carps in India. It is better to start fair altogether 

 without any English preconceived ideas to be got rid of, and I 

 think the simplest way is to take the name given him by his 

 sponsor, 'Dr. Jerdun, the naturalist's name, tie- name recognized by 

 [chthiologists, and anglicise it as closely as possible. Such names 

 are ordinarily indicative, first, of the classification ; secondly, 

 of the peculiarity of the fish in question, though they are 

 sometimes named alter friends, which naming, though it may be 

 a kindly recognition, occasionally hard, perhaps, to avoid, is not 

 useful descriptively; for, though the fish may be bearded and 



