Dfx'. 1, 1898.] 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
431 
THE GAUBAMI FISH FOR CEYLON. 
We have had an interesting visit from Mr. 
D. O'Connor on liis way back to Queensland 
after his successful expedition with rare fish 
n-ver before seen in Europe, referred to below. Mr. 
O'Cunnor is stron<,'ly of belief tliat the ganranii 
to stiick Ceylon tanks, could be most conveniently 
got from Java by British India steamer to Co- 
lombo. In Java as in Mauritius, the gauran)! is 
now a great article of food ; but it is cultivated 
alnu)St entiiely in private ponds and tanks, bear- 
ing the same relation to other fish that a barn- 
door fowl does to game-birds. True, the gau- 
rami in its native habitat of Cochin-China 
manages for itself ; but elsewhere it does best 
in private tanks or ponds. Mr. O'Connor does 
not think too that it will succeed well at Nuwara 
Eliya (although we spoke of apparent success 
on the Nilgiris) and for this reason, that lie 
knows it was tried in the hill-country of Mauri- 
tius and never could be got to breed there; but 
succeeded excellently when taken to the low- 
countrj'. Mr. O'Connor thinks the gaurami should 
do well in Colombo and the country around ; but 
he would have householders experitnent with it 
as they would with poultry, being assured that 
few investments if properly carried out are likely 
to be more satisfactory or profitable. 
Mr. O'Connor is very hopeful of getting gau- 
rami from Java to acclimatizo and prosper in 
Queensland. 
given as arguments in favour of the introdnct ion 
of A Fisheries' Act into other provinces of lacia., and 
why not also into Ceylon. We toad that Mr D O'Connor 
arrived inLoudon with four specimens of the Ceridotus 
pecnliar to Queensland which he succeeded iu kaepiog 
alive. Two were purchased by the Zoological Society 
for£90 and ho was offered £100 if he delivered the 
The other two alive at tlie Jardin des Piantes, i'aiis. 
Mr. O'Connor has determined that on hia way to 
Que!?n3land he will bring living Gourami from Java 
or Mauritius as he considers that Queensland waters 
are ennuently suited to be habits of the fish which 
he expects to very easily acclimatise. The Mauritius 
Government was enquiring afier Sinhalese cattle a 
little tia:e ago, why should not the Ceylon Govern- 
ment see about getting over some of the Mauritius 
fish ?— Yours truly, c. D. 
THE GAURAMI FISH. 
Dear Sir, — It is said that Gourami may be iuferior 
from a Sportsman's point of view, but otherwise is 
by far the most important fish, and could in a few 
weeks be established by transporting a couple hundred 
live fish, which should prove neither very difiicult 
nor costly. 
The Gourami is supposed to have spread from 
Cochin China, which is given as its native habitat, and 
where existing in a wild state, it is found up to 100 lb. 
in weight. In other countries the fish domesticated 
and being kept in captivity, and is usually marketed 
before it is 12!b. in weight. When, no doubt, it proves 
better eating and is more profitable than when larger. 
Many consider the Gourami the finest of ail tish. 
The flesh is of a pale straw colour, firm, flaky and very 
delicious. 
The fish is said to bo very tenacious of life, being 
generally taken to market alive, and if not sold 
returned to the water. It is described as being very 
hardy and growing fast, mainly a vegetable feeder, 
but eating any form of waste food. Any one with a 
pond in bis garden can keep the fish and big scroop 
net is only necessary when one is wanted for dinner. 
A writer says that it would be difficult to find a new 
industry which would yield such satisfactory results 
o any one who owns water, such as a pond or lagoon, 
as the cultivation of the Gourami. For the above 
facts I am mainly indebted to Mr. D. O'Connor, a 
Queensland authority on Pisci-culture. 
The scientific name of the Gourami is Osphroiuenus 
olfax noliilis. Besides heing bo commonly found in 
Mauritius as well a» Java, it has been established 
iu many other parts, and is found in the tanks of 
Calcutta, of Madras and the Nilgiris, where it attains 
20 lb or more inweight and is considered excellent 
eating when kept in clean water. Dr. Watt writing a 
few ycasr tgo, says that there ths Government of India 
were considering the introduction of a Fisheries 
Bill, to remedy the wholesale destruction of fish, 
by preventing fish poisoning, regulating the size of 
not fish, guarding tho mouths of irrigation canals 
' against the entrance of fish, levying a tax on the 
uso of tishiiiK implements. It is said that the Scind 
freah-water fisheries iu 1832-^3 yielded a revtnue 
of 1192, all, and in Burma in 1883 twelve to thirteeu 
hvc3 of rupees wore netted and those nstances ar« 
KARE FISH. 
We had another call from Mr. D. O'Connor, 
a scientific resident of Brisbane, (fish and 
fruit being his hobbies) who sailed on the 
afternoon of the Qtli Nov.; on hia return to 
Queensland. Mr. O'Connor who has been 
40 years in Australia, went to England a 
few months ago with four specimens of a great 
piscine rarity, the Cfirtfodus fosttrii (soealled by 
Gertird Kreft of Sydney after a squatter, Mr, 
Foster, who first shewed him specimens). The 
fish reached England in fair condition, and in 
due time two of the «pecimens were bought by 
the Directors of the Zoological Gardens at Re- 
gent's Park, the remaining two being purchased 
for the Jardin des Piantes in Paris. These are 
the first specimens of the species that have found 
their way to Europe; the type Di>?io» to which 
they belong; contains two other gerera, the Lepi 
dosiren pufadoxa, found in the tributaries of the 
river Amazon, and the other Protopterus annec- 
tens a native the large livers of tropical Afiica. 
We quote the following from the Encyclopedia 
Britannica : — 
Together with the Australian Ceratodus, the lepi- 
dosirens are the only living representatives of a Tery 
old type of fishes, the Dipnoi, which reaches back to 
the Devonian age, thus giving us an insight into the 
organization of fishes of which nothing but some 
obscure and fragmentary impressions of the hard 
parts are preserved. The boay of /.ep;'rfosjV<;i is eel- 
shaped, and covered with small thin scales. A single 
vei^tical fin surrounds the posterior part of the body 
and the tail ; the paired fins are r.'duced to two paii-a 
of .long threads, internally supported by a series of 
sm 11 cartilages. The dentiuon is very character, 
istic, and consists of a pair of conical pointed vome- 
rine teeth, and a pair of large cuspidate and ribbed 
molar teeth on the palate and in the lower jaw 
The skeleton is notochordal ; and lungs are nreseni- 
in addition to gills. pio^enc 
Mr. O'Connor's specimens were obtained fiem the 
rivers Mary and Burnett in Queensland. The 
news ot their safe arrival in London and Paris 
excited great interest in the colony from which 
they came, and telegraphic messages announcinrr the 
same were to be found in all the Australian papers 
The fish IS an tdible one, the rtesh bein'- of a* 
reddish colour, but many people dislike usin-' it 
tor fo'od, on account of its close connection uith 
the lizard and other reptiles. The Ctrntodtis is 
in tact, a link between tiie reptile and the fish ' 
iMr. O'Connin, in exchange for the fish helias 
laKen home, brings back lor introduction into his 
adopted colony specimens oi the edible rrog, A'<i/irt 
excu/ciita, which he hopes to convey safely To their 
ttesiinatioii. They had this morning accomplished 
the lirst part of their journey without injury to their 
constitution. The frogs were obtained iu Paris, 
