March i, 1888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
645 
the Highlands the supply of salmon in the rivers 
had greatly diminished. To our amazed inquiry 
as to how the sheep on the moorlands affected 
the fish in the mountain streams, he gave the 
very simple explanation that the droppings of the 
sheep constituted no breeding place for earth- 
worms. Those of the cattle did, and the earth- 
worms, the favorito food of the fish, were swept 
into the rivers by periodical floods. This case 
shows how the operations of man can disturb 
the balance of nature, but as earthworms 
must accompany the mud from the paddy fields 
into our rivers, we should think that good rather 
than harm to the fish would acorue from 
mud-laden affluents ? But opinion founded on ex- 
perience is worthy of respect, and what we feel 
is, that with reference to continued and increased 
supplies of a very important article of food, es- 
pecially amongst the natives, the whole question 
of our freshwater fishes, their qualities and the 
best modes of seouring the reproduction of the 
best kinds is worthy of careful investigation, by 
an expert or a commission of experts. We submit 
that the Ceylon Government might well move in 
the matter, and if so they could not do better than 
ask the Government of Madras for the loan of the 
services for a short period of that enthusiastic 
sportsman and naturalist, the Hon. Mr. Thomas, 
with whom could be associated local authorities like 
Mr. Haly, Mr. Le Mesurier, Mr. Cross and others. All 
the information now existing in a scattered form could 
then be brought together, properly arranged and 
profitable conclusions as to fish culture in streams 
and ponds arrived at. 
Has any reader a copy of Mr. Thomas's great 
work, "The Rod in India," which he can lend us? 
We have sought for the book in vain in the 
Colombo Library and that of the Asiatic Society. 
Our recollection of extracts from this book and 
other notices of the mahseer in Indian publica- 
tions is that the testimony in favour of the 
mahseer as an edible fish is unqualified by any 
statement that the flesh is affected adversely by 
season or food. We tasted portion of a mahseer 
taken out of the Teesta river, near t>arjiling, in 
In Mr. Thomas' recent bo>k we see no reference to 
fish poisoned or rendered poisonous. The fruit of 
Flats indica is, we suppose, innocujus, being a 
fig. A writer in the local " Timed " gives a 
graphic account of a scene he witnessed: — "Some 
twelve or fifteen yoars ago, several of us were fish- 
ing at the Hutalo anient, and, getting tired of the 
sruall-sized caich which fell to my rod and lino, I 
left it in tho hands of a companion nud strolled up 
the bank of tho Kattrogam-oya with a gun, follow- 
ing a carious bloating hound like a sick lamb, and 
which I then took to bo a fawn, but turned out 
really to bo tho cry of the single-billed toucan. Hear- 
ing a groat splashing aud commotion in the river, 
and cautiously looking ovor the raised bank I saw a 
shoal of fish — mostly i) or 10 inches in length — in a 
frightful state of excitement, jumping out of tho 
river, and catching the fruit of a banyan tree {Fiona 
Ittdicai) as fast as it fell, which, as tho tree was a 
very large ono, and covered with fruit, was con- 
tinually dropping; and, with half-a-dozen fish trying 
for tho Hiimo fruit, it may be imagined what a commo- 
tion tlioro was the pool." Ho adds: — " I have caught 
lish in tho Diinbuiaoya with this bait, and I have 
soon dozens of littlo fishes rush at sapa fruit as 
thoy fell into the P.adulhi-oya For the d&rk-groun 
pcri h lit Kugiun, bits of meat, or wtrms, wero vory 
successful bait." To quote auaiu: — "'oho most success- 
ful angling 1 have experienced in Ceylon was from 
n bo it at Kanthalni, in the middle of the dry soason." 
IhU ruvivuH the suggestion wo offered after oar visit 
to Kalawcwa, that this and other largo tunka ought to 
bo systematically utilized for the nocking and breed- 
ing of tho vory best specios of freshwater fishes, 
indigenous and imported. 
the hospitable abode of Mr. Gammie, Superin- 
tendent of the Government Cinchona Plantations 
in Britinh Hikkim. The fish was excellent, and 
neither then nor at any other time did we hear 
that it was ever otherwise in India. If in Ceylon 
the reputation of this the noblest of Indian fresh- 
water fishes is more qualified, it is time that tho 
reason why, with other questions as to our fresh- 
water fishes, wero fully inquired into and set at rest. 
We have several times mentioned what our 
late lamented friend Mr. Moens of the Java cin- 
chona plantations told us, as showing that pisci- 
culture in the Netherlands Indian Colony is scarcely 
second in importance to agriculture. " The natives 
here," said Mr. Moens, " get two crops of nearly 
equal value from their fields : first, the harvest 
of paddy and then the harvest of fish." The 
prevalent fish in Java is a good-sized carp 
coloured like gold-fish, which might well be in- 
troduced here if we have not got it already. In trath 
freshwater fish in Ceylon seem to be numerous 
and abundant. What appears to be needed is tho 
culture and proper feeding of the best kinds in 
ponds, after the fashion which Mr. Thomas des- 
cribes as so profitably prevalent in and around 
Calcutta. Mr. Thomas's chapter on the " stocking 
of ponds" is so interesting and calculated to be 
so useful, that we shall notice its contents in a 
future article, transferring extracts to the Tropical 
Agriculturist. 
While we were writing an Indian paper brought 
us the following account of a " bag" of mahseer: — 
Dehra Dun Fishing. — Some good sport was ob- 
tained during December last at Kaiwala on the 
Ganges, about six miles above Hardwar. Sixteen 
mahseer, averaging 24J lb. each, were caught by Major 
Durand and friends; tho heaviest was 40 lb. and the 
lightest 15 lb., but there were only three fish under 
20 lb. These fish were nearly all caught with natu- 
ral bait, and after sundown. A lot of small fish 
were also caught by various members of the Associ- 
ation in the Song and Surwas rivers of the Eastern 
Dun, the favourite bait appearing to be a small 
gold or silver fly spoon. — Pioneer. 
THE YIELD OF TEA IN CEYLON' 
ON OLD, WORN COFFEE ESTATES; ON 
PLACES IN GOOD HEART; AND ON 
VIRGIN FORE. -5 T SOIL. 
(lly an Experienced Coffee and Tea Planter.) 
In reference to the yield of leaf from old estates 
my candid opinion — not newly formed, and, I may 
say, applicable to most old districts (I have tea 
9 years old, giving this year 180 lb. made tea per 
acre, and this yield will represent the highest yet 
harvested from that field) — is, that quite one-third 
of all old coffee estates, i.e., estates niamoty- 
weeded and washed as most old ostates were a 
quarter of a century ago, and fully half of others 
will not yield more than 150 lb. made tea per 
acre, and that 8 to 10 years from planting will see that 
yield reduced to 100 lb. an acre, or in other words 
abandoned if no manure is applied, and on (lie 
question of manure my advice would be on no 
aocount manure lea, which, without it, affords less 
than 250 lb. per acre. The better portions of 
estates might, with occasional appliu aionsof manure, 
koep up tho yield to 2">0 or Hu.i I . an acre all 
round for 20 or 25 yoars where kbero is a fair 
depth of free soil. Where the sul' >oil is of a 
quartzy or cabook nature, I would expect t 10 crops 
to fall oil in much loss time. My system for the 
last four years has been to plant bare ridges and 
portions of coffee li -Ids in cou so of transforma 
tion into tea, where the soil is of a light do. 
ecripiiou, with fuel trees of various kinds, and la t 
