( 15 ) 



of trees grow into them, fishing has usually to be carried on 

 by means of traps, angling, or spearing. 



THE PISHES OF THE FRESH-WATERS. 



XXV. The fishes which are chiefly useful as food in 



the fresh-waters of India belong to 



Fresh-water fishes. ., n , 7 . . A 



the order Physostoim, especially in its 



siluroid, cyprinoid and herring families, as well as those which 

 are included in the order Acanthopterygii> sub-divided by some 

 authors into two. The other orders which furnish examples 

 to the fresh-waters are only employed as food by the very 

 poorest classes, or even entirely rejected. (A list of the 

 fresh- water fishes is appended, para. 430). 



XXVI. Another mode of dividing the fishes which fre- 



quent the fresh- waters of India is into 



Migratory and non-migratory , \ 



fishes. Breeding ones poiyga- the migratory and non-migratory . 

 mous or monogamous. Seasons Some of the miffratorv forms (as 



of breeding, -n 7 / \ i_ -i' 



Barbus tor) ascend the hill streams 



from the rivers of the plains for breeding purposes : cr 

 those which never leave the plains, although they belong 

 to this division, may be marine (as Clupea palasaJi) : or 

 entirely fresh- water species (as several of the carps). 

 Migrations in adult fish are effected for breeding or pre- 

 daceous purposes, or to obtain some peculiarly desirable 

 description of food. There are also, as already observed, the 

 " non- migratory" fishes both in the waters of the hills, as some 

 loaches and small siluroids, or in those of the plains, as the 

 Ambassis, &c. Lastly, the breeding-fish will have to be con- 

 sidered, the majority of which appear to be polygamous, but 

 some are monogamous : whilst the time of year at which they 

 deposit their eggs varies with seasons and localities, the mi- 

 gratory forms almost invariably selecting the monsoon 

 time. 



XXVII. In the sub-class TELEOSTEI, the spiny-rayed or 



Acanthopterygian or spiny- ACANTHOPTERYGIAN Orders of fisliCS, 



rayed order of fishes. are no t found in any great numbers 



in the inland fresh-waters of India, but are mostly confined 

 to the plains, either within or but a short distance removed 

 from tidal reach, or above the sea level. The larger the river, 

 the greater the probability of these fishes extending their 

 range up it. There are some genera which possess species 

 that are able to exist some time after their removal from the 

 water, and even to dive down and remain in the mud of 

 tanks during the dry season, re-appearing with the returning 



