642 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, 1888. 
not possibly mean anything else, and answered in 
that 6ense at once; and when the young Mahseer 
arrived there were tens of thousands of mosquito 
larvae awaiting them. The next morning I looked 
them all over myself, and gave them their clwta 
haaari (early meal) of the same, and, that they might 
not faint by the way, when putting them on board 
the steamer from Madras to Ceylon, I sent an extra 
potful of refreshments of the same sore, and the 
man in charge was instructed, on arrival at Colombo, 
to obtain a fresh supply in the bazaar and give the 
fry a substantial meal thereof before calling on them 
to undertake the fatigues of the railway journey 
from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya. This he did, and the 
result was that out ef 21 Mahseer fry shipped from 
Madras to Nuwara Ellaya 19 reached their mountain 
stream well and vigorous, the two that failed failing 
by reason of extra vigour, jumping out of their pots 
where the covering net had got displaced. 
The man no doubt found mosquito larvse in 
abundance in the drains or pools in the vicinity 
of our bazaars, but we think we may safely assert 
that he did not find the juvenile mosquitoes 
amongst the commodities on sale. Mr. Thomas' 
book may lead to a change in this respeot. He 
is about as enthusiastic on the virtues of the 
mosquito as a water clarifier and a food for fishes 
as he is about mahseer and labeo, and that is 
saying a good deal. 
Since writing the above we have been able to 
refer to a paper on the freshwater fishes of Ceylon 
contributed to "The Friend" by the Eev. D. H. 
Pereira, in which the Uld is described as contra- 
distinguished from the Mid, but neither does this 
writer seem to have had any idea of the identity of 
the Ceylon Uld and the mighty mal*>eer of India, 
which, in the pools of the Himalayan rivers, attains 
a size and weight so truly gigantic and affords sport 
over which anglers like Mr. Thomas became ecstatic. 
We were aware that Maskeliya derived its name from 
the abundance of fish in its Peak-born stream, 
and classic interest attaches to that stream from 
the reference made to it and its finny inhabitants 
in the elegant poem of Sri Eahula Sthavira of 
Totagamuwa, Sela Lilvini Sandese, — " The Sela's 
Message." A bird identified by the late W. C 
Macready in his scholarly translation of the poem 
with the maina is sent to deliver a message, and 
the various places it passes are described. Amongst 
the rest, Maskeliya : — 
4.. Thence flying, view the ford Maskeliya, 
3. .Where Lellu (a.) fish are playing, making globes 
Of foam and rippling eddies (6), 2.. rolling o'er 
And o'er each other, (c) leaping from the wave 
1. .Fearless, (d) to snatch the food which multitudes 
Of people bring and throw into the stream. 
(a).. Lellu fish are an edible fish found in many 
riven of Ceylon. 
(6) lit. wrinkles of waves; breakings or divisions 
of waves. 
(c) lit. each other's bodies. 
(d) lit. without alarm or shrinking ; to snatch, lit. 
after the food, for the food, dative case. 
It is quite evident that Mr. Macready was not 
aware of the identity of the " edible fish " found 
in many rivers of Ceylon with the mahseer ; for 
in the Glossary which he appends to the poem he 
has simply: "©f5®cn(3D, ?. a fresh-water fish, 
called Leila. &Q®az<dt55 pi. 51." As the pil- 
grims bound for Adam's Peak crossed the ford 
referred to, there can be little doubt that they 
were the multitudes of people mentioned as 
throwing food to the tame and confident fish. 
We presume the practice is continued, and that 
"merit" is supposed to be gained by feeding the fish? 
If we are correct in our surmise, that the fish are still 
fed as of old, mahseer of the largest size ought to 
be found near the Maskeliya ford. Can any local 
resident send ua an aocount of the largest Ulh ever 
found in the river ? Mr. Pereira, in his notice of 
the Uld, refers to the passage in the Sela 
Lihini Sandese, but gives a prosaic translation of 
his own. We quote as follows : — 
Lehel peti mahangulu 
Luhul walapotu teli dalu 
Rehemas rankakulu 
Noyek kelena ma<k«subu mulu. 
Bun mini men dilf 
Sililen pirunu nimali 
Dolak daaka wipuli 
Iwura weta inda Bamunu ekali. 
The celebrated poet, Totagamuwe, who flourished in 
the reign of Buwanaka Bahu VI., a. d. 1461, is the 
author of the above stanzas, in which he describes a 
wandering Brahmin preparing to take his meals at the 
bank of a dola, replenished with pure crystaline waters 
sparkling like the broken diamond, on the surface of 
which were disporting the following fishes : Ulds, 
petiyas, maha (large) anguluwds, lUlds, walpaottds, 
teliyds, dalds, remassds, golden crabs, and maskasubds, 
edible turtles. From these stanzas it is evident that 
some of the fishes we have described were recognized 
by the ancients as purely fresh water fishes. A dola is 
a large hollow which receives the waters of mountain 
streams situated in elevated districts. 
Danan genadamanagodurata nopsekiliya 
Pfena psena diyen owunowunoengehi peraliya 
Lehelun kelena kara pena pidu rala raeliya 
Etanin piyasarakara daku maskeliya. 
In the above stanza, quoted from the " Sselalihini- 
sandesaya," a book of great poetic merit, the same 
poet alludes to the fish Ulds. In a series of verses the 
poet describes the path which the bird was to take in 
carrying his message, and when he comes to Maskeliya 
ferry, he says, " You will find it turning with Ulds leap- 
ing over each other in their attempts fearlessly to feed 
upon the food thrown to them by the people, and, by 
their frolic, rippling and producing foam on the water." 
These beautiful fishes are still found in abundance 
in the Kalani and other large rivers in the island, and 
are daily fished, for the Grandpass fish market, along 
the banks of the Kalani river. They are caught with 
the line, the hook baited with boiled rice or the pulp 
of the young coconut. 
On the specific character of this beautiful fish our 
notes supply us with the following description. The 
prevailing colour, greenish above, the sides and abdo- 
men almost white, the whole shining with a brilliant 
silvery metallic lustre ; scales large and semicircular ; 
the belly large and protuberant ; one dorsal, one ven- 
tral and two pectoral fins of a dusky hue ; tail, forked 
and of a blue colour ; two vents to each nostril ; mouth 
large and gaping, no teeth, four berbules. Its average 
size is two feet, by twelve inches round, although 
sometimes it reaches three feet. The flesh is delicate, 
nutritious, and in good repute for the table except in 
one season, when it feeds principally on the flowers of 
the iudura, which grows on the margin of the rivers. It 
then produces a giddiness when eaten. It resembles 
the Barbus Vulgaris in the family Cyprinidce, both in 
the beautiful arrangements of the scales and in the cirri 
at its mouth." 
Here, it will be observed, the Ulds and li'dds, 
distinct fishes, are represented in Mr. Pereira's 
first notice as disporting together with other 
fish in the same dola or pool. In the ex- 
tract from the bird message poem the elds 
alone are mentioned, as so abundant that 
the waters of the river were continually " turned" 
(whirled or churned) by their lively actions, leaping 
over each other to secure the rice and other 
food thrown to them doubtless by the "merit- 
seeking," Peak-bound pilgrims. The scene was 
described nearly four and a half centuries ago, 
during the reign of Sri Prakrama Bahu VI., A.D. 
1410-1462. Mr. Pereira confirms the statement of 
" Fisherman," that these fishes are found in 
abundance and are fished from the Kelani for the 
Grandpass market. Three feet seems the maxi- 
mum size attained. The "delicate and nutritious" 
