1864.] Remarks on a Lake in the District of Bassein. 43 



them ere they reach the water ; as the space becomes more confined, 

 the disturbance of the mass of fish becomes so great that the noise of 

 the splashing, and especially the deep hollow " grunting" of the larger 

 kinds, is heard at several miles distance, and although this may appear 

 tinctured with a little exaggeration, it will be intelligible when the 

 number offish caught is never below 70,000 to 80,000 of all kinds, some 

 of which weigh upwards of 15 viss or about 60 lbs. ; and mixed up with 

 the mass it is not unusual to find alligators of all sizes, from the infant 

 of a month, to the grown parent whose skull measures two cubits in 

 length. Strange to relate, no accident or casualty has ever been known 

 to occur from the presence of alligators in this lake, although the men 

 employed in working the drag net are constantly compelled to dive to 

 the bottom in the deeper parts, to clear the lower portion of obstruc- 

 : tions in its bed, and I have myself seen an ancient member of the 

 family, whose length could not be short of 15 ft., lying lazily on the 

 surface within 100 yards of a cluster of children bathing near the 

 bank. 



During the taking and disposal of the fish, some 8 to 10,000 

 persons are collected at the small village in front of the preserve, a 

 bazar is formed, and temporary sheds for smoking the fish are built, 

 where the principal amount of business is transacted ; the scene alto- 

 gether is novel and exciting, and, but for the fishy odour, fresh and 

 jtf corrupt, which pervades the atmosphere, would be well worth the visit 

 of the curious observer. 



I omit the native names of the principal fish ; they belong, however, 

 to the following genera, — -Perca, Cyprinus, Gobio, Laheo, Pimelodus, 

 i Cirrhinus, Cyprinodon and Silurus, some of which attain the large size 

 I previously noted. In addition to these, however, there is a multitude 

 / of smaller fry which are converted into the coarser kinds of " Nga-pee," 

 }/• and are only interesting to the Ichthyologist, who would here find a 

 v; > large field for observation. 



But of those named above, some 25,000 viss, or upwards of 40 tons, 

 are annually disposed of on the spot, and, taking the amount of revenue 

 | paid for this fishery or 3000 viss as representing 40 tons offish, we have 

 I for the whole of the fresh water fisheries of Pegu an amount of upwards 

 1 of 1800 tons of fish annually supplied to meet native requirements, 

 I an item considerably within the actual production, but which will 



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