xxxvin 



INTBODUCTIOX. 



after striking the outer end of the dam, to swirl round towards the mouth of the net. 

 Any fish passing into the net is almost certain to touch one of the pieces of twine, and 

 the vibration is conveyed to the man holding the main cord, who quickly raises 

 the net. 



The Birket Karun is noted for its large Perch, Lates niloticus. I am indebted to 

 Mr. Joseph, who was engaged on the light railways in the Fayum, for the following 

 data regarding a specimen taken at the beginning of the year :— Weight 140 lbs., 

 length 1 metre 40 cm., girth 1 metre. 



Tig. 21. 



Fishes of the genus Tilapia, called " Bolti," are abundant and often attain a large 

 size. They are excellent eating when freshly caught and cooked on hoi wood-ashes ; 

 the flesh of those caught in the brackish lakes is firmer and of better flavour than of 

 those caught in the Nile. According to the fishermen, in winter time the fish swims 

 nearer to the surface for the sake of the warmth afforded by the sun, and consequently 

 more and larger fish are taken at this period of the year than in summer. 



After leaving the Birket Karun I stopped for a short time at Lahun, on the Bahr 

 Yusuf, where the commoner Nile species are fairly abundant, especially during the 

 late part of the year. The fishermen here told me of a species of " Shal " (Synodontis) 

 called by them " Shal rumie," of which only one or two specimens were caught in a 

 season. This was described as having the under side of the body black and the rest 

 white. A fish with the same characteristics was called " Shal gemel " by the Cairo 

 fishermen, who said it was of very rare occurrence. I never saw one in the flesh from 

 this district, bat should think, from the description, that it would be Synodontis 



