CHAP. xxiv. My Experiment. 341 



said, one day, " You get all this good fishing for nothing, because the 

 watchman prevents netting." (He was the municipal watchman whose 

 business it was to see that the drinking water was not befouled or 

 stolen, and nothing extra had to be paid him on account of the fish.) 

 " Will it be a great thing for you all to give him one fish in ten of what 

 you take, so as to keep alive his interest in being your protector ? " 

 " Not at all," they answered with willingness ; and so it was arranged 

 that the watchman was to take tithes, and henceforward I called him 

 the " Rector " in my notes. I gave him a few days to fall into grooves, 

 and then I told him to keep an account of what he got daily. He did 

 so, but he complained that the anglers stood very rigidly to their one 

 in ten, never giving him one in nine or two in nineteen, and never 

 giving him a good-sized fish when they got one, but always the smaller 

 ones. I thought this was better than encouraging him to be grasping, 

 so joined with him in deploring the depravity of mankind, but did not 

 interpose in his behalf. The result, you will see, was that his tithe 

 was very much less than a real tenth, was probably much nearer one- 

 sixteenth or one-eighteenth of the real weight of fish caught. This 

 was more satisfactory for my calculations than over-estimating. He 

 kept this account for a month in an average sporting period. I fre- 

 quently weighed his tithes to arrive at a fair average of the weight 

 corresponding to his numbers, and here, again, I erred on the side 

 opposite to exaggeration. I found that anglers were taking fish out of 

 that one pond at a rate which amounted to 4000 Ibs. weight of fish a 

 year. As time went on, anglers rather grew in numbers than other- 

 wise, and some of them took to it, not as a pastime, but as a profession, 

 selling their takes ; and as the fish grew bigger, they started country- 

 made reels and running line, as I taught them, and always met me 

 with a pleased look as I strolled round to ask what sport, and look 

 at their bags j and after more than a year had passed, they declared 

 that not only had all the fishing made no impression on the fish, but 

 the total takes were continuing to increase. As there was no netting, 

 only angling, I let them fish all the year round without any close time. 



Among the fry that I put in were some Labeos. The natives were 

 very positive that they never bred in ponds, but needed running water. 

 I thought they might be induced to try breeding in a pond when they 

 found it impossible to get to a river, and the event proved I was right. 

 After a time, Labeo fry were caught very much smaller and more 



