( 75 ) 



extensively practised ; as the rivers commence drying up, 

 earthen bunds are raised along its bed parallel with the 

 course of the stream, but narrowing towards its lower end ; 

 fish are driven in, the ends are stopped, and every one is 

 taken. This bunding and lading takes place everywhere 

 in India and Burma for the purpose of capturing fish. In 

 the latter province (p. ccviii) streams are bunded into tanks 

 by an earthen dam being thrown across them, which of 

 course causes the water to collect above : next smaller ones 

 are erected parallel to the course of the stream, and cutting 

 off a portion of it from the main channel. The water is laded 

 out, the whole of the fish captured, and this is continued 

 portion by portion till not a fish is left. In making the 

 earthen dam, two rows of strong stakes, six feet apart, are 

 driven in across the stream ; the interval is filled in with grass 

 and clayey mud. 



LXXVI. Waters may be poisoned without such being 

 done for fishing purposes, but the 



Waters may be poisoned. . / i i * 



enects of which are injurious or 



even destructive on fisheries : such may be (1) accidental or 

 natural, as by monsoon floods washing a large amount of 

 mud suddenly into rivers and causing the fish to perish, as 

 in Coimbatore (p. Ixxxvii) and elsewhere; (2) with the muddy 

 water some unwholesome agent may be conjoined, as decayed 

 leaves of trees and shrubs, or other vegetable substances. It is 

 observed in Satara (p. 1) that when the rivers become muddy at 

 the commencement of the monsoon, fish die in large numbers, 

 also when they become nearly dry at the close of the hot 

 weather ; (3; such may also be due to the inherent poisonous 

 nature of the fruit, leaves, or other component parts of trees 

 or shrubs, which during the dry or cold season have fallen into 

 contiguous streams, and there remaining, due to there being 

 no current, have become an infusion of poison, which with 

 the outburst of the rains is carried down to the main 

 rivers. None of these causes appear susceptible of allevia- 

 tion ; but it is observed in the JS orth- "Western Provinces that 

 in the Koana River (p. clxii), standing fishing weirs are per- 

 mitted to block up the whole of the water-way : as the water 

 becomes poisoned or otherwise unsuited for fish-life, all the 

 fishes up-stream endeavor to descend to the purer portions 

 of the river. But an impassable fishing weir quite stops 

 the way ; the owner allows no passage, so there they are 

 allowed to miserably perish, and, useless as food, become 

 carted away as manure. (4) In South Canara the refuse 



