40 



MALAYAN PISHES. 



the caladiuni leaves ijiipiirtiiig a very fine flavour to the fisli. 

 They will rise to a fly or b^etle^ and sonifi flowers, partiLiilarly 

 A largo Hjbistius. Anyone intemling to kee]) t!u':--e fisli iii stock 

 poutlii is arlvisLHl to kec]) the point free from iKjllutio]i and to fe«d 

 rhf Ml Tp^jularly. It ii* niily in this way that rapid growth and 

 )^oo(\ flavour tian be ol)taiiietl, 



Thev attain a length of t^^'o feet^ a weight of at least 20 pounds 

 find in *ha)ie re.sc^mhk! the tiirbot. 



The Pepuya or Betok (Anahaa &mnd(m) has a world wide 

 repiitatian as the Clinihing IVreh, Qimther* tells ii* that in 

 JJuklorf in & memoir oonimiiiiifated to the LiiiJieau Society of 

 Ijoiidcm mentions Hiat he had himsflf tjiken, in an Anabas 



in the aet of ajseending a ]iahn tree (Falm ijra) which grew near & 

 pond. The fish had reached the height of 5 feet and was going 

 ?:till higlier. He [goes on to my that the fi^h named in tthe 

 Malay rtii hinguage the " Tree Cliinl>er " which is & niistftke. He 

 iihould, I thii\k, have .sairl the Maiavalflin hiitguage. See Day 

 tFisihe.-i of Jndia) I'ndi roUi, 



"Mi^"' writes, 



.1 nahfis hag l>een freqnently obtained on the ground and 

 a spmmeii now if] the eolk'ftion of Armstrong College, oIj- 

 taiiietl from near linngki^k wns fomul eros^.sing tlie road -^0 

 yards from the iiearei^t water. It is named the Llimliing pereh 

 £i-oin the hahit it ha^ of elimhiug up tiie rough tiark of tViiQ& by 

 movenieniii of the spine-dad opercula, 



" The method of jirogrtii^sion out of the water and the 

 f limbing of palniii and palmyra trceii, especially after heavy 

 rains, have been repeatt'dly observed." 



The ^fegri Sembilan Mfilays have a saying, oftt^n cjuotetl, whiL-h 

 hits off Hie high estimation in whieh thi^ little fish i.s held by iidand 

 dwellers: Jikufnu .^mkh mintim ay^r gopomf hfrhli ijoL sudah 

 mfdnn pcptuftt, pntffih iml,- iinygalkatt, negri mi: whieh may be 

 roughly translated : When a visitor has drunk the water and eaten 

 the fish of this **{nintTV, lie hmth to leave it. 



The fkfln Peiaga or Belaga {Betia spp.) prolmbly derives ita 

 3>sme from Hiam wlion^ it i^i known as Pla Kat {Pla. fish; Kai^ a 

 %hter). 



It is t^onimon througlHuit the Peninsula and may be eau^ht in 

 mttst of the ponds and ditcher ill Singapore. 



Cantor rehites that the Siame-e are infatuated with tlie eom- 

 Tf>at^ of these fish, striking on the ist^^ne coassiderable sums, and some- 

 times their own persons and fumiHe^. 



The licence to fight these fish used to J>e farmed in Siam and 

 brought in a eonsidernble revenue to the King. 



i Study of Fiahea, p. 516. 

 * Mlgratbna of Fiali, J91«. 



