ynSCELLAXEOUS NOTES. 525 



No. XXII.— FISHING IN BURMA. 



Very little seems to be known about the game fishes of Burma, and 

 my object in writing is to ask members to give their experiences as to the 

 species, localities and proper bait to use at the different season. I am a 

 keen fisherman, but I know very little about identifying the species, and 

 should be thankful to be recommended a good book on the subject of 

 classification. 



My experience has been that the best Hies to use are generally dark 

 flies, hackle and no wing, with a silver body at dusk. Peacock feather is 

 useful also. Of the winged flies, I prefer Brackenclock and Alexandra. As 

 regards spoons, I find copper and silver the best and of artificial baits, a 

 silver devon or* a blue and silver rubber minnow, my objection to the latter 

 being that it quickly becomes brittle in this climate. 



I have found mahsir in the Sittang in Pyinmana District, and also the 

 fresh water shark (ngamyin). The mahsir also occurs, I believe, in the Bilin 

 Chaung in Thaten district and in the Salween and its tributaries, but I 

 have not caught them myself here. 



I should be much obliged if some Burma member could give me the 

 Burma name of mahsir ? I have heard " ngatamigma " used in Pyinmana, 

 but elsewhere in the dictionary it appears to be used for a species of cat- 

 fish . In the Salween and Thaten districts the name is apparently " Nga- 

 thalin. '" I find an irregular use of the names of fishes in different places, 

 and it is difficult to find a Burman who can give the names of the species, 

 except the very commonest, with certainty. 



J. B. MERCER ADAM, f.c.h., 

 Assistant Conservator of Forests. 



Ranuoox, 27th July 1910. 



[The true Mahseir (Barbui tor) is not found in Burma, but there are sereval other large 

 species of Barbus which inhabit the Burmese rivers. Thomas's " Bod in India" and 

 Day's Fishes (Fauna of Brit. India) are the best books for classification, but we shall be 

 happy to identify any specimens which may be sent in spirit to our the Society's 

 Xuseum,— Eds.] 



No. XXIII.—NOTE ON DR. BENTLEY'S PAPER • THE NATURAL 

 HISTORY OF MALARIA. 



One of the methods recommended in the above paper for the clearing of 

 wells and fountains of Anopheles larvre is the introduction of the small 

 surface-feeding fish called " Piku. " It will be of interest to the members 

 of our Society to know that the first to recommend these fish, and to use 

 them for this purpose was the late Mr. E. H. Aitken, one of our original 

 members. I remember well in the monsoon season of 1902, when living in 

 a chummery with him in Ezra House, Apollo Bunder, the delight with which 

 he watcher! the lightning-like darts of the Pikus when mosquito larvre 



