CHAP. in. Mahseer' s Manner of Spawning. 43 



The salmon, we know, completely exhausts itself by the mighty 

 effort of laying at one time about as many thousand eggs as it weighs 

 pounds, and it is not surprising that it should then be in such a weak 

 state as to be unfit for human food or sport, unable almost to take care 

 of itself; and even after it has somewhat recovered, and become what 

 is called " well mended " it cannot be expected to be the same fish in 

 the river that it is in the sea. It is a sea-fish, and the river is not its 

 proper element any more than India is yours and mine. It still pines 

 for shrimp sauce and a furlough in the sea. The case with the Mahseer 

 is, however, very different indeed. It gets through its egg-laying on 

 the same principle as the fowl, not exactly one egg a day, but in 

 batches at intervals, and does not feel the same drain on itself as 

 if it had laid them all at one time. Moreover, it is all the while in its 

 own element in the river, is getting as good feeding as it can ever have, 

 and is recouping itself between the several layings. The consequence 

 is that I do not remember ever to have come across a Mahseer looking 

 so emaciated as to appear unfit for human food, though I have observed 

 them to be in poorer condition at one time than at another. But that 

 is very different from looking as a spent salmon does, big and bony- 

 headed, lank and thin-shouldered, pale and haggard as if he had been 

 to a ball or a pool till small hours every night for a month. It is a 

 general rule that every animal, and for the matter of that every grass, 

 etc., is in its finest condition when preparing to reproduce its species. 

 A hen is never in better condition than when full of small undeveloped 

 eggs, and about to commence laying them. It may fairly be concluded, 

 therefore, that the Mahseer which is prepared to lay one or two more 

 batches of eggs is in good reproducing condition, is in fact in high 

 condition, although it may have already laid one or more batches that 

 season. When it has completed its spawning for the year it has much 

 deteriorated in flavour and lost all its richness, and I have known one 

 case, but only one, in which we were all ill after eating one. I think 

 it was exceptional, and not enough to militate against the general rule 

 that a Mahseer does not become an unwholesome fish like a spent 

 salmon, though he may be flavourless at the end of the spawning. 



On the 3oth September, 1882, in the Bawanny some Mahseer had 

 milt in them, and some frayed fins, but the most part seemed excellently 

 well mended, and in high colour. 



A reason for the Mahseer laying in batches may be interesting. 



