INDIAN FISH AND FISHING. 55 



the testimony of their own senses, and have exclaimed, to 

 use their own words, " truly the river is everywhere bubbling 

 with fry ; " and, what is still more to the point, their practice 

 has not belied their words, for they have taken to fishing on 

 grounds that were before considered profitless. Two years' 

 discouragement of poisoning, and one year's discouragement 

 of fine cruives, has worked such a change that it has been 

 demonstrated, beyond cavil even of the ignorant and of the 

 most interestedly opposing, that marked advantage can be 

 reaped from the adoption of these two simple measures 

 alone. 



What rules have been instituted in order to mitigate 

 the condition of the fisheries I have been unable to ascertain. 

 An Act (VII. of 187.5), however, has been passed for Burmah, 

 for the protection of the fisheries; while Mr. Buckland, 

 Member of the Revenue Board in Calcutta, remarked 

 (November, 1879) that the following figures show the 

 progress which is being gradually made at Goalundo, at 

 the confluence of the Ganges, and Burhampootra, where 

 hilsa fish abound : — Fish cured 1875, 1,362 maunds ; 1876, 

 4,835; 1877, 10,800; 1878,* 14,000. He concludes that 

 "there is, therefore, some reason to hope that Dr. Day's 

 proposal may bring some good fruit after a while." While 

 at page 6 I have referred to some results obtained in 

 Madras. 



I now propose considering what proportion of the people 

 of India and Burmah use fish as food, or, rather, can do so 

 without infringing caste prejudices ? 



In the Punjab, comparatively but few of the inhabitants 

 are prohibited by their religion from consuming fish, but 



* This shows an increase of 1,043,215 lbs. of fish in a year in one 

 locality, where in the first of the four years nearly 112,073 lbs. only 

 were prepared. 



