256 Fishing in Estuaries. CHAP. xvm. 



off. Some of them sprang a foot in air, and all fought well. If I essayed 

 them again I should try a fly a little larger. I have also taken them 

 with a dead bait and float. I have seen them in Calcutta, and they are 

 on both coasts. They acclimatize very readily to fresh water, and 

 grow fast, as I know, and breed, as I am told, in ponds. But they 

 must be very destructive of the fry of other fish. It is not a prudent 

 thing, therefore, to put them into any pond in which you wish to breed 

 fish. But natives are fond of keeping them in ponds, and in a Fort 

 ditch or any place into which predacious fish have already got it may 

 be acided without injury. Plate xvii. will help you to recognize it. 

 The Tamil name is Mordng Kendai and in places Pal Kendai. 



Order. PHYSOSTOMI. Family. CLUPEID^E. 



Megalops cyprinoides. B. xxiv.-xxvi., D. 19-21 ( iy ^. I9 ), P. 15-16, V. 10, 

 A. 24-27 (5^5), C. 19, L. 1. 37-42, L. tr. 5-6/6. 



Punnihowu and Naharn, Ooriah ; Cunnay, Mai. ; Moran cundai, Tarn. ; 

 Nga-tan-youet, Burmese. 



The Seer. 



If you try the same tactics at, or close to, the mouth of a river, as 

 have been recommended for Bamin, you may get the Seer fish, which 

 is a splendid fellow. I do not think they ever come far into a river. 

 Indeed, I am pretty sure they do not. I once saw a fine one of 15 Ibs. 

 killed in a funny way. A friend and I were spinning for them. I 

 left my friend spinning at a projecting sand spit, at the mouth of the 

 Mangalore harbour, which is cut abruptly away by the current, and is 

 very little above the water level. He threw out his bait, and spun it 

 home to him, and had just pulled it out when, to his astonishment, and 

 I believe alarm, a i5lb. Seer fish, in dashing after it, sprung clean on 

 shore, at his very feet. There he was, a fine fellow, flopping about, and 

 in imminent danger of getting into the water again. All hands punched 

 his head, with the butt of the rod, with boots, for we had been bathing, 

 and anything handy, and with any amount of excitement. Meanwhile, 

 others of us were in a boat trying the mid stream, and coming back we 

 were shown the fish, as if it had been a legitimate bag, with a long yarn 

 about the line it had taken out, etc. But I had happened to get a 

 glimpse of it in the distance, and joined in, therefore, with their story, 

 saying, " I saw you showing him the butt" 



