SOME STRANGE FISH 



most disgusting of which is throwing poisoned bits of 

 meal-cake into the water, and then wading in to make a 

 collection ; " a custom which sure no other nation is like 

 to rob them of ! " 



Another way of going to work is by pelting the fish 

 with stones, which can be done very profitably where the 

 shoals of yellow musht congregate. Some of the Bedawin, 

 probably taking example by travellers, fire charges of 

 small shot among them, and so get a bag ; so thick are 

 these shoals that it is even said that a revolver bullet has 

 been known to kill three fish. Hook and line may be 

 found very occasionally, but, as a rule, where the practices 

 mentioned above are not resorted to, the fishing is done 

 by small dip-nets or large hand-nets ; in the former case, 

 the fishers, standing on the rocks, lower a kind of bird-net 

 which can be closed by the pulling of a rope, from rocks 

 or wooden platforms, and haul up at intervals of an hour 

 or so. Where the hand-net is in use it is a kind of 

 cross between a butterfly- and shrimp-net the fisherman 

 wades in up to his waist with a bag on his shoulder, and 

 is content to catch the fish one or two at a time. The 

 fish of the Syrian waters are of many different species, but 

 few are peculiar to the country. 



Going farther afield to the more distant islands and 

 probably meeting en route the sea-serpent, which is one of 

 the ribbon-fish tribe frequenting very deep water and 

 measuring from fifteen feet we come across other flying- 

 fish than those mentioned in an earlier chapter. The 

 flying gurnard, for instance, which, in addition to possess- 

 ing the power to take long leaps, can support itself in 



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