On East Indian Isinglass. 173 



cies, and is in fact Polynemus Sele, Buch. Dr. Heddle states, 

 that at Bombay this fish is called Dara ; at Scinde, (where it 

 proves, as originally suggested by us, to be the source of the 

 cod sounds alluded to as an article of export from Kura- 

 chee) it is called Seer. % The substance extracted from the 

 Dara, as well as two other species on the Bombay coast, 

 which we shall presently notice, is called B'hdt by the Mah- 

 rattas, and Pliat by the Guzeratees and Scindees. B'hat 

 is collected by the fishermen, and sold to a certain class of 

 Mussulman merchants, called Khojah, who export it largely 

 to China. 



The principal portion of the Bhat exported is collected, 

 Dr. Heddle states, from the Dara ; the best is from Scinde, 

 and sells for 20 to 25 rupees per maund. This fish Dr. 

 Heddle states, frequents the whole of the western coasts of 

 India, particularly the coasts of Scinde, where it penetrates 

 up the estuaries of the Indus, and is caught at Gorabari, 

 Kurachee, and other places on the estuaries of the Indus. 

 Polynemus Sele, or Dara, appears from the statement of Dr. 

 Heddle to afford the best B'hat, or fish sounds, as well as the 

 largest supplies. The fish itself is also highly esteemed as 

 an article of food. 



The second kind of fish affording this article, attains, ac- 

 cording to Dr. Heddle, four feet in length, the usual size 

 is from 2\ to 3 feet, and is caught in great abundance about 

 Bombay, the flesh of which is reckoned wholesome by the 



* We were not unprepared for the confirmation of this important 

 fact, as the species was found by Bruce, the African traveller, to frequent 

 the coasts of the Red Sea, although as Cuvier remarks, " par une de ces 

 etourderies dont son livre est rempli, il ecrit au bas de la planch e le 

 nom de binny, et il lui applique dans son texte tout ce qu' il avoit re- 

 cueilli sur le vrai binny, qui est un poisson du Nil, du genre des bar- 

 beaux (le Cyprinus binny, Forsk et Gmel.) II n'y a point de Polyneme 

 dans le Nil, et c'est uniquement sur cette meprise de Bruce qu'est 

 fondee l'espece du Polynemus Niloticus du Shaw." — Hist Nat. des Poissons, 

 t. 3. p. 283. 



