42 The Natural History of the Mahseer. CHAP. in. 



There they linger till the diminishing stream warns them to be moving 

 downwards. There they deposit their spawn, and thus secure for their 

 fry, when hatched, waters then dwindled to dimensions much better 

 suited to their puny strength than the deeper current of the lower river. 

 The spawning done, the parent fish keep dropping gently downwards 

 with the continually decreasing waters, and before the spawn they have 

 deposited is hatched, they are completely cut off by paucity of water 

 from their fry, so that till the commencement of the same monsoon in 

 the following year they cannot return to devour them. 



But they must not, after the manner of salmon, be considered back 

 fish or foul fish when descending the rivers. Careful examination of 

 the ovaries of many fish has satisfied me that the Mahseer does not 

 spawn like the salmon all at one time, but just as a fowl lays an egg 

 a day for many days, so in my opinion the Mahseer lays a batch of eggs 

 at a time, and repeats the process several times in a season. How 

 many batches it lays in a season cannot be positively said, but I 

 should judge from the appearance of the ovaries that there were three 

 batches. 



Fishermen can judge for themselves, and may be interested in doing 

 so. For this purpose cut the fish open from the vent to the mouth, 

 and the ovaries will be found lying close against the backbone. There 

 is no mistaking them, a thin skin, more like a quill in size than any- 

 thing else at first, with the little round dots of eggs evidently apparent 

 through. That these are in states of development differing among 

 themselves in any individual fish will be easily recognisable ; but which 

 are more or less approaching complete ripeness for being laid, can only 

 be learnt by the experience gained from comparison of different fishes. 

 When nearly ripe the eggs will be hanging more loosely together, and 

 the vent will be inflamed. After a batch has been laid the lower part 

 of the tail, and the ventral fin, or the fin on the stomach, will be more 

 or less worn, bearing marks, in short, of having been used to work out 

 a hollow in the gravel for the reception of eggs. This ragged, frayed 

 appearance of tail and fin will indicate, therefore, that one or more 

 batches of eggs have been laid, although others for future laying may 

 still be found in different stages of development in the ovaries. 



If the fisherman sees no eggs in the long, thin, quill-like bag lying 

 close against the backbone, between it in fact and the intestines, then 

 he may be sure that he has got hold of a male with milt. 



