742 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XL 



attacking bees increased the rage of the survivors, though I knew in practice 

 that bees will not sting a perfectly motionless man or animal. The former 

 has not the courage to attempt this 'without the aid of a blanket, but I have 

 seen an elephant stand quiet in the midst of an angry swarm and not suffer 

 in consequence. As to the attack by undisturbed hives at a distance fr* m 

 the first, I see no more difficulty in a bee being attracted to the corpse of a 

 friend one hundred yards off, than to a bank of flowers one mile off. But 

 the unprovoked attack would imply either an offensive alliance between all 

 individuals of a species or temporary madness occasioned by the presence of 

 death. Will some of our members help us in this difficulty ? 



S. EABDLEY-WILMQT. 

 Ltjcknow, February, 1898, 



No. XII .— BAHMEEN FISHING IN BOMBAY HAEBOUE. 



The Bahmeen (Polynemus tetradactylus), or Eous Fish, known to our 

 butlers as the " Indian salmon r " used to be fairly common in Bombay 

 Harbour in the neighbourhood of the Sunk Eock Lighthouse, but of late 

 years it does not seem to have appeared in such numbers, although I cannot 

 find any reason for the fact. They were seen congregating about the rock when 

 the lighthouse was beinj* built, and for some years afterwards they used to 

 make their appearance regularly at the beginning of the ebb-tide. The rock 

 on which the lighthouse is built has short channels on the north and west 

 sides, which seem to provide shelter to the bummalo, mullet and other small 

 fish when the tide is running strong, and the Eous take advantage of these 

 shelters to be in wait for their prey. There may be and I presume there are 

 other places about the harbour where the Eous might be taken with a rod, 

 but I have been unable to find them although I have tried several likely 

 spots without success. The best time for fishing I have found to be in the 

 monsoon months, June to September, and about one hour after the tide has 

 begun to ebb. Spring tides are the best and the fish cease feeding, or, more 

 probably, leave the place, about two hours before low water. I have never 

 caught a fish on the incoming tide, although I have taken them exactly at 

 high water. I first fished 'or them in August, 1885, with Mr. J. L. Symons 8 and 

 as the Sunk Rock as a fishing place was little known, we had it mostly to 

 ourselves, with the exception of the lighthouse-keeper, who with his pri- 

 mitive arrangement of a bamboo, thick string with a bit of tin and a hook 

 at the end, used to catch a good many. That year and the following there 

 were a great many fish about, and as we were both new at the game we did 

 not kill as many as we ought to have ^one. We bad plenty of runs and break- 

 ages in proportion, but averaged about seven fish during the two or three 



