CRAFT. HI. s era! Labt L59 



She tells you that the old alderman is getting pumped, Hiseverj 

 instinct is to keep do Vi a at the bottom in deep water, bo keep pressing 



on him upwards and shoreward*. At last you have him in the 

 landing net, a 3 lb, tisli with a funny little fringed mouth. What 

 is he I He is a Labeo, one of twenty-five, of which eight run large, 

 attaining respectively to 1£ feet, 2 feet, '■> feet, ami in one case to 

 nearly 5 feet in length, according to Dr. Day. I have only the 

 pleasure of a personal acquaintance with lour of them, and they are 

 all .similarly thick-built fish, and to he taken in one ami the same 

 way. 



The Plate which I have given does not exactly correspond with 

 any one of Dr. 1 laj s Labeos, but it is none the less correct, having 

 been taken from life from a 5 lb. fish under my own careful 

 superintendence. 1 did not choose it because it differed, but 

 because, as I meant to give colours, I was hound to have the very 

 fish to which the colours belonged. 1 have not named it as a new 

 fish because the difference is slight, and because I could not keep 

 the specimen, and there are difficulties* about the Labeos, arising, 

 seemingly, from varieties rather than from separate species. I have 

 thought best, therefore, to apply the name I have in the Plate in 

 spite of the very slight variation from Dr. Day's fish of the same 

 name. In short, [ have preferred to follow his nomenclature. 



These fish being of the sizes above-mentioned, and all, as far as I 

 know them, thick-built heavy fish for their length, anglers will see 

 that they are worth fishing for. I have no note of having caught 

 them over 3 lbs. with a line myself, hut I have of having seen them 

 5 lbs. 14 oz. and am assured that they run very much larger, and J 

 have a manor;/, perhaps poetic, of ha vine caught them 7 lbs. They 

 are as cunning a fish as the roach, and to be fished for in the same 

 manner. Good roach fishing is the glory of the Londoner, ancl here 

 is just the same for you with the fish seldom under 1 lb. and 

 averaging 2 lbs. 



Iain afraid of want of sympathy for float fishing, so I must 



transgress my rule promised in the preface, and mention a little bag 



made one day just to draw the render on. A friend and self caught 



in a pond 21 lbs. weight in one hour. Some of them were 3 lbs. 



DUl the majority were about 2 lbs. each. Another day I got 



• For the difficulties, see the discussions under various Labeos in Dr. Daj's 

 '• Fi-hes of India," and the differing opinions of different authors. 



