EXTRACTS FROM TOURS ALONG TEE MALABAR COAST. 219 



sisting of a stick weighted at the end to which the thread is attached, and 

 deftly swung round the head. Visitors to the bungalow are beset by profes- 

 sional mendicants making an income out of the prevalent elephantiasis (Cochin 

 leg), which attacks young and old alike ; and vendors of stuffed ^crocodiles 

 with flat glass panes for eyes, and mouths lined with red or yellow flannel, 

 and jewellery of local manufacture made from the small silver coins (jputtans) 

 of the Native State of Cochin. 



Stored in the bungalow " compound " are casks of fresh water, brought daily 

 from the sanitarium of Alwayi, about twenty miles from Cochin. The water of 

 the Alwayi river, from which I obtained a unique dredging consisting of stone 

 gods, has a good, reputation, and on it the European community of Cochin 

 depends largely for its supply of wholesome water. 



Lining the Cochin river on both the north and south banks are rows of 

 Chinese or parallelogram dip-nets, about sixteen feet square, which are let down 

 into the water, and, after a few minutes, drawn up again. These nets afford 

 an easy and certain source of income, and, like other fixed engines, " produce 

 an ' unearned increment ' to the owner, irrespective of his skill, or of his being 

 a member of the fishing community proper."* The men who work the nets 

 stand protected from the sun within a cadjan shed or beneath the shade of a 

 portiaf or " tulip tree " (Thespesia populnea), whence they emerge to pick the 

 fish out of the net (the apex or bottom of which is brought within reach by 

 a long rope) with a hand-net. When the fishes are small and few in number, 

 the fishermen are defeated by the ever-watchful crows who in company with 

 pariah kites {Milvus Govinda) sit perched on the wooden framework of the 

 net, waiting anxiously for it to be hoisted up out of the water. 



In March, 1886, enormous quantities of mullet (Mugil pcecilus), character- 

 ised by a deep black spot in the centre of the scales, were being caught daily 

 in the parallelogram nets. This fish is used extensively as food, and the roe is 

 considered a great delicacy. Another species of mullet (M. cumesius) was also 

 caught, but in far smaller quantities. 



Placed across the Cochin backwater, in which long-nosed dolphins (Delphinus 

 dussumieri) may frequently be seen disporting themselves, are bamboo 

 labyrinths and rows of bamboo stakes with nets affixed thereto at 

 flood-tide. These bamboo stakes serve as convenient perches for hosts 

 of the smaller sea tern {Thalasseus hengalensis), on the look-out for food. 

 Fishermen, simply clad in a loin-cloth and widespreading circular hat made of 

 palmyra leaves, may constantly be seen fishing in the river or backwater from 

 canoes (" dug-outs ") with lines or nets ; fishing with bait from the jetties ; or, 

 in the cold season, trolling at the mouth of the river for ba"-min (Polynemus 

 tetradactylus), a specimen of which, estimated as weighing over 300 lbs., and 



* F. J. Talfourd Chater, Prize Essay. Fisheries Exhibition, London, 1883, 



t " The word portia is a corruption of Tamil pu-arassu, flower-king." Hobson-Jobson, 



