( 60 ) 



the substances of which weirs are composed, appears to be 

 everywhere much the same, whether examined in the ghats 

 of Canara, the yotnas of Pegu, the Himalayas or the plains 

 of India and Burma, and that size is about sufficient to 

 permit water to flow, obstructing every fish attempting to 

 pass. First, are the weirs in the hilly districts or contiguous 

 localities erected simply for fishing ? this is usually done 

 as the violence of the monsoon floods subside, and the 

 rush of the mountain torrent has decreased to that extent 

 that these erections are not liable to be swept away. It is 

 to the hills as already remarked (para. XXXVI) that some 

 of the most valuable of the carps of India proceed to breed ; 

 in fact, such are the only localities well adapted for the 

 reception of the eggs of a few species, and where their young 

 should be reared in quietude. Where irrigation weirs exist 

 en route to these hills as I have already observed (para. 12), 

 they serve to impede or arrest this upward progress of 

 the fish, some entirely so (para. 12), others to a lesser degree. 

 Even at some of these irrigation weirs trapping these fish 

 goes on, and in fact, in many places they experience the 

 greatest difficulty in reaching their spawning grounds. But 

 some overcome the difficulty of ascent, a few deposit their 

 spawn, and now the force of the water lessens ; it occasionally 

 becomes a little clear, and one may as well follow the course 

 of the parent fish trying to descend to the larger rivers of the 

 plains. Here spearing, snagging, netting, angling, &c., are 

 omitted, but only the existence of fixed engines will be investi- 

 gated. Weirs are now raised every few miles, absolutely strain- 

 ing the whole of the water of these hill streams, whilst in every 

 one are traps. The probabilities are that the great majority 

 of mahaseer that reach the rivers of the plains are the last 

 year's fry which have fortunately escaped destruction during 

 the dry months, and with the first floods, when the standing 

 weirs have been washed away, they have obtained a free high- 

 way. But the breeding-fish are unable to descend owing to 

 the present poaching practices permitted, and due to fishing 

 weirs being allowed, as the force of the floods abate, to 

 extend across all the streams in order to arrest their down- 

 ward passage. In the Himalayas (p. clvi), " weirs are erected 

 as soon as the monsoon begins to cease, and they remain 

 in existence till carried away by the first floods in the rains. 

 They are placed usually at the tail of each pool, and there 

 is almost always one at the junction of two rivers, thus 

 entirely preventing fish running up till the weir is carried 



