INTKODUCTION. xxxin 



a few cigarettes, which were a great luxury to these men, made matters run quite 

 smoothly. After leaving Lake Menzaleh I proceeded to Samannud, a large town 

 situated on the left bank of the Damietta branch of the Nile and nearly halfway 

 between that town and Cairo. I stayed there three weeks, but without important 

 results, as I arrived at the time when the Nile reaches its lowest level in this part of 

 Egypt, and it was on the 14th of July that I noticed the first perceptible rise. The 

 common species of the Nile were fairly well represented ; some others, such as Ra'ash 9 

 Fahaka, and Annuma, appear during the flood, but Polypterus bichir is very rarely 

 taken at any period of the year. At this place the modes of fishing are those used 

 elsewhere on the Nile, night-fishing being much in vogue. I saw an ingenious device 

 when working the big " gouraffa," stiff round balls of mud being used as weights 



instead of lead ; these are placed in the slack at the bottom 

 of the net and being slung over the rope rest in a kind 

 of pocket (diagram 14). Weights of this kind are very 

 effective, as they keep the net well at the bottom, put little 

 strain on it when it is being hauled in, and can easily be 

 renewed. 

 Some of the men adopted a curious mode of ground-baiting. A basket full of dry mud 

 from the bank of the river is broken up into small lumps and then worked up with 

 water into a thick paste, to which some flour is added, the sweepings of a flour-mill 

 doing very well. The whole is formed into round balls, each with a large hole, which 

 is filled with flour and then covered over with a layer of paste. Smaller holes are 

 made all over the lump with the tips of the fingers, these are likewise filled with 

 flour, and the whole is then smoothed over and dusted with flour. It is then placed 

 in shallow running water, which slowly washes away the paste and sets free the flour- 

 This is carried down-stream and attracts the fish, which follow up the scent, so to 

 speak, until they reach the source of this unusual supply of food. The fisherman 

 waits for an hour or more after he has deposited the bait, and then returning to the 

 spot which he has marked casts his circular net, often taking many fish of good size. 



From Samannud 1 proceeded to the Barrage, where I stayed a fortnight, during 

 which I received every assistance from Mr. Brooke, the engineer in charge. 



The most interesting feature here was the eagerness of the fish to meet the first 

 rush of the inundation-water as it came through the sluices. Aware of this habit, 

 the fishermen had obtained permission from the engineer to have one of the gates 

 lowered about 9 inches below the surface of the water, thus allowing a steady stream 

 to rush through but not sufficient to cause a turmoil in the water below. Here large 

 numbers of fish were taken at a single cast, and after being allowed to rest for half an 

 hour the place was fished again. The commonest species taken here were Shal, 

 Bessariya, Shilbe, Widnah, and Rhy, sometimes Annuma and Bana. In the Eosetta 



