276 xking Ponds. Chapt. xxii. 



happy about tlieir takes, I said, one day. " you get all this good 

 " fishing for nothing, because the watchman prevents netting." 

 (He was the municipal watchman Mdiose business it was to see 

 that the drinking water was not befouled or stolen, and nothing 

 extra had to be paid him on account of the fish). "Will it be a 

 " great thing for you all to give hirn one fish in ten of what you 

 " take, so as to keep alive his interest in being your protector ? " 

 " Not at all," they answered, with willingness; and so it was 

 arranged that the watchman was to take tithes, and henceforward 

 I called him the " Hector" in my notes. I gave him a few days to 

 fall into grooves, and then I told him to keep an account of what 

 he got daily. He did so, but he complained that the anglers stood 

 very rigidly to their one in ten, never giving him one in nine or 

 two in nineteen, and never giving him a good sized fish when they 

 got one, but always the smaller ones. I thought this was better 

 than encouraging him to be grasping, so joined with hini in de- 

 ploring the depravity of mankind, but did not interpose in his 

 behalf. The result, you will see, was that his tithe was very much 

 less than a real truth, was probably much nearer one-sixteenth or 

 one-eighteenth of the real weight of fish caught. This was more 

 satisfactory for my calculations than over-estimating. He kept 

 this account for a month in an average sporting period. I fre- 

 quently weighed his tithes to arrive at a fair average of the weight 

 corresponding to his numbers, and here, again, I erred on the side 

 opposite to exaggeration. I found that anglers were taking fish 

 out of that one pond at a rati' which amounted to 4,000 lbs. weight 

 of fish a year. As time went on, anglers rather grew in numbers 

 than otherwise, and some of them took to it, not as a pastime, but 

 as a profession, selling their takes ; and as the fish grew bigger, they 

 started country-made reels and running line, as I taught them, and 

 always met me with a pleased look as I strolled round to ask what 

 sport, and look at their bags : and after more than a year had 

 passed, they declared that not only had all the fishing made no 

 impression on the fish, but the total takes were continuing to 

 increase. As there was no netting only angling, I let them fish all 

 the year round without any close time. 



Among the fry that I put in were some Labeos. The natives 

 were very positive that they never bred in ponds, but needed 

 running water. I thought they might be induced to try breeding 



