( 'hut. xiv. /. Ba 177 



when concealing himself , by Lying on the very bottom, can well 

 what is passing over his head, and between him ami the 

 light 



The depressed ahape of the head and fore part of tin 1 Mnrral's 

 body, especially of the under hall', shows that it is frequently at 

 the bottom; indeed, so depressed is the form, that it seemingly 

 could not swim with its mouth at right angles to the perpendicular, 

 it' it was not assisted hy an unusual length of dorsal and anal tin. 



There are two or three ways of Live baiting. There are the 

 ordinary En glish ways of running the hook just under the back fin, 

 or through the upper lip. Through the lip is unsatisfactory to my 

 mind, both because it gives a very tender hookhold, and is liable 

 to give way when taking your bait in and out of the water ; and 

 also because it interferes, I think, with the breathing of the bait, 

 and kills it sooner than it need. Of course you should not adopt 

 the clumsy way I have seen some follow, of hooking the bait right 

 through the body near the tail, for you thereby make its move- 

 ments in the water unnatural; and, I should flunk, soon kill it, 

 tor I am free to confess I never tried it myself. Then, again, there 

 is the somewhat cruel way not unfrequently used with trimmers 

 in England. Just slit the skin with a penknife, on the side, half- 

 way down the fish, close to # the gills, insert a baiting needle, and 

 it carefully down the lish only just under the skin till about 

 the anus, when you bring it out, and draw the loop of the 

 hook after the baiting needle till the hook is home to the entrance, 

 and lying close against the fish. But the natives have a very neat 

 way of baiting a live fish. They insert the hook at the anus, and 

 pass it carefully point fore m o-i lowards the back, but only just 

 under the skin ; and when they have got it well up to t lie bend of 

 the hook, they push the shank gently in up to the very head, so 

 that the whole hook is concealed under the skin of the bait, and 

 lies with the back of the hook towards the back of the fish, and the 

 point towards the stomach, for the hook has had a turn given to it 

 in the process of inserting the shank. Lastly, the hook is felt 

 through the skin, and the cord gently pulled, so as just to bring 

 the point through the skin of the bait This Last is a delicate 

 operation, and serves the double object of preventing the hook 

 from slipping out of its concealments, and of being the better 

 prepared for hooking the fish that takes the bait. This sounds 



THE BOD Di INDIA. N 



