Ciiapt. xvi. Introduced Fish. 193 



enough of ahallow, shelving, gravelly bottom to form excellent 

 spawning ground fortrout ; and thai done, the law of chances in so 

 large a lake may well be trusted to for enough of survivals. 



If even now the troul could be caught in the Pykara Btream, 

 and as many as half a dozen at hast ]mt together into the Ootaca- 

 mund Lake, so as to 1»' pretty sure of having both sexes, there 

 might still be some hope of eventually getting good sport in the 

 Hill Lakes. I am not unaware of the arguments for and against 

 the possibility of trout breeding in such a climate as the Neil- 

 gherries, a very different thing from their breeding in the plains of 

 India, which is of course out of the question. But the matter 

 seems now to have passed beyond the region of argument into 

 that of tact It' trout are introduced into the Ootaeainund Lake, it 

 will be advisable to make a little elbow room for them, by some 

 netting out of the diminutive carp that choke the lake. It is not 

 that carp would injure trout, but that they breed faster, and would 

 monopolize the available food. 



By way of improving the trout struggling for existence in the 

 Pykara stream, a certain gentleman, and he a fisherman too, I will 

 not name him lest anglers should "Boycot" him, was at much 

 pain- to introduce into that stream Murral, the Indian l'ike! ! and 

 was proud of the achievement, and was abetted in it too ! ! ! Ah 

 me! how those poor Hills have suffered from misdirected energies. 

 It is to be hoped no one will be energetic enough to put them or 

 Freshwater Sharks into any of the lakes. 



Dr. Day, however, did good work there, as might be expected. 

 He introduced from the rivers at the foot of the Hills, the Barbus 

 Carnaticus, my tine lly-takinu friend of Chapter X. It is flourish- 

 ing in the Billikal Like, the owner of which, Mr. Thomas Kaye, 

 told me, in September, 1875, that be saw the big fish spawning on 

 the shallows of the lake, sixteen at a time, and that they rose best 

 to the fly in the N.E, monsoon, alter and in a shower; that 

 they took butterflies, when he threw them in, and tried at swallows. 

 He had ahot '■'< lb. fish, and had seen them 4 feet long in the water. 

 11- hi ird them splashing from his bungalow, which is two or three 

 hundred yards away from the lake. He preserves well from 

 netting, and is kindly about allowing gentlemen anglers to fish. 

 But alas : alas ! he had put in the small English carp from Ootaca- 

 niund in 1S74. The Carnatic Carp are believed to be also iu the 



nU BOD IN J.M'IA. O 



