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rains dispersed over the surface of the country in rice-fields, 

 swamps, drains and ditches. These endeavour subsequently 

 to make their way to the large rivers, but the dangers which 

 beset them on the road are more numerous than those which 

 Bunyan's Pilgrim had to encounter. In the shallow waters 

 in the rice-fields, women and children may be seen in crowds, 

 fishing with baskets termed jakai, through the interstices 

 of which a tadpole could not pass. Those that escape this 

 danger, and, following the flow of the water, arrive at one of 

 the innumerable little bunds separating the various paddy- 

 fields, find their further progress barred by funnel-shaped 

 bamboo traps, through which the water is made to pass, but 

 whose outlets are so small that only the most minute fish 

 can get through. Escaping to the smaller water-courses, their 

 dangers seem to increase. The Assamese divide the chan- 

 nels into sections by erecting bunds, and from one of these 

 they proceed to bale out all the water, capturing every fish, 

 large and small : they then bund off another portion, and do 

 likewise. The fish finally arrive at the smaller rivers, find 

 their exit barred by weirs, which will let nothing pass, and 

 not content with this, the Assamese will sometimes resort to 

 poison." In Burma at Rangoon (p. ccxxii), it is observed 

 that the right to catch breeding-fish only is rented out in 

 some parts, separate from the fishery itself; so further re- 

 marks on how these fishes are treated in that province 

 appear unnecessary. 



LVII. Seeing that a fish diet is popular throughout 

 The supply of fish in the India, that the markets are not suffi - 

 fresh-water decreasing. ciently supplied, that the breed- 



in g-fishes are trapped ascending to their breeding-grounds, 

 and the fry by every conceivable device, the question arises 

 Is the supply of fish in the fresh-water increasing, decreasing, 

 or stationary ? In the Pan jab, out of 78 answers from 

 different talookas, an increase is reported in 13, a stationary 

 state in 32, and a decrease in 33. In Sind, no alteration. 

 In the North-Western Provinces, out of 17 answers 

 (p. cxlv), 6 report a statiorary state, 10 a decrease, but some 

 think the fisheries are recovering. In Oudh, 21 tehsildars 

 report an increase in 8, stationary in 10, a decrease in 2, 

 and doubtful in 1. In Bombay, that the fish in rivers and 

 tanks have generally decreased during late years. In the 

 Haidarabad Assigned Districts, there is only one opinion, 

 which is, that they have decreased. In Mysor and 

 Coorg, the great majority of reporters give a decrease; 



