376 HOMES WITHOai' HANDS. 



very plentiful in the little muddy streamlets that intersect the 

 sugar marshes, so that the hahits of the. fish can be easUy 

 watched. The parent fish is very jealous of the eggs, and waits 

 near them until they are hatched, and the young fanuly com- 

 mitted to the water. The natives are well aware of this habit, 

 and catch the fish readily by insinuating a net or even a basket 

 under the water near a nest, and then raismg it quickly, when 

 the parent fish is mostly found in the net. 



Perhaps the most curious part of the economy of this fish is 

 the fact that the nest is not placed in the water, but in a muddy 

 hole just above the surface. This habit, however, accords with 

 the qualities of the fish, which is remarkably independent of 

 water, and can travel over land from one pond to another, led 

 by some mysterious instinct, which we of higher powers cannot 

 comprehend. During the dry season the Hassar is in the habit 

 of burrowing into the mud, and there residing imtil the welcome 

 rain sets it free. Those who know the customs of the fish are 

 therefore able to procure it at almost any period of the year, 

 digging for it in the dry season, and fishing for it in the wet 

 months. 



