Jan. r, 1898.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
465 
CEYLON FISHING CLUB. 
The annual general meeting of blie Ceylon Fish- 
ing Club, was lield at Hill Club, Nuwara Eliya, 
on the 27th Nov., when there were pre.sent; — 
Messrs. S. M. Burrows (in the Chair), C. H. 
Bagot, G. C. Ross Clark, John Fraser, and North 
C. David.son. 
Mr. Burkows then read the following report of 
the working of the Club during the past year. 
The last annual meeting of this Club was held 
on September 12, 1896, and a report was read by 
the Hon. Secretary (Mr. Lushington). Subsequently 
three meetings were held — one on December 23rd, 
1896, when the usual election of ofiSce-bearers for 
the ensuing year took place, and the accounts of 
the Club up to that date were laid on the table. 
A second meeting was held on March 1st, 1897, to 
discuss the distribution of the fry, and a third 
meeting was held on September 25th at the request 
of several members, and a preliminary report was 
submitted by the Hon. Secretary ; the accounts up 
to date were laid on the table and passed, and the 
arrangements as to ova for the next hatching season 
were discussed. 
RULES. 
During the year the following rules were altered 
or amended. In Rule No. 1 page 2 the word “ per- 
son ” was deleted and the word “ resident in the 
island” were substituted for it. The following words 
were added to Rule XI : “ Sufficient notice of such 
proposed alteration or amendment shall be given to 
the Hon. Secretaries to allow them to give each mem- 
ber of Ceylrn Pishing Club ten days’ notice before 
the general meeting of such alteration or amendment.” 
Rule III that licenses to fish for trout by non-mem- 
bers of the Club shall be at the following rates : — 
One day (a) R12’.50 
,, week (b) 25 00 
,, month (c) 75'00 
The whole season (d) 120 00 
Rule V. section (b) was altered to read thus : 
“ They shall at once return to the water all trout 
accidentally caught.” 
Rule VII : that “ subject however to the excep- 
tion contained in Rule No. 5 was expunged.” It 
will in consequence be advisable to bring out a fresh 
addition of the C.F.C. rules. It was also decided to 
keep on, the present watcher, who has done good work 
during the year, in watching the local streams and 
lakes preventing poaching and prosecuting offenders, 
and to employ in a similar capacity the resthouse- 
keeper, Horton Plains and the Patiapola resthouse- 
keeper. 
» FISH REGISTER. 
The fish register kept at the Horton Plains rest- 
house having proved successful and interesting, it was 
thought advisable to start similar books in Nuwara 
Eliya ; and the Grand Hotel, the Club. St. Andrew’s, 
and KeenalCottage, have each been supplied with one. 
It is hoped that- fishermen will keep the Club by en- 
tering them up carefully. The Horton Plains register 
shows that 384 fish were caught by members be- 
tween February 15th and August 22nd, of which 
216 were under 11 inches, and were returned 
to the water. The largest fish taken was one of 
3f lb. caught by Mr. A. T. Cathcart ; while 8 fishes 
were caught between 2 and 2J lb. ; 70 between 1 
and 2 lb. and 89 -between | and 1 lb. Unfortunately 
there is no register of fish caught in Nuwara Eliya 
though it is hoped that this will be remedied by 
next year. 
CLOSED SEASON. • ' 
The alteration of the dates of the close season has 
been discussed, but no definite conclusion has yet 
been arrived at. It is a difficult question on which 
everybody defers. The fact is, we none of us know 
much about the breeding habits of trout in these 
waters, and of the alteration in their habits caused 
by change of climate, food, etc., because we are most 
of us busy men who have no time to devote to the close 
daily obsei vation necessary for such a study. A leisured 
man with previous experience who would take up 
e matter as a hobby would be a real God-send. Two 
stewponds were made early in the year— one by the 
kind permission of H.B. the Governor in the grounds 
of Queen’s Cottage, and one under the superinten- 
dence of Mr. Farr at the Horton Plains. It is too 
early yet to pronounce whether they are a successor a 
failure. Fry were supplied to each but the Horton 
Plains pond, was seriously affected by a heavy flood. 
Queen’s Cottage pond, has been undisturbed and it wilt 
be dragged early next year before fresh fry are put 
in, to ascertain how the last year’s fry have fared. A 
great many female trout full of spawn were sent 
to us for inspection by the fishermen who 
caught them in July and August, but hardly any 
waters were caught then with signs of milt in them. 
Every effort was made to discover signs of fish work- 
ing up towards the headwaters in pairs or of females 
depositing eggs in the sand, and the removal of sand 
and rubble from the upper parts of the streams was 
prohibited for several weeks in order to keep the 
waters as undisturbed as possible. But it cannot be 
said that so far there are any certain proofs that 
the trout are spawning in the Nuwara Eliya streams. 
An experienced member and former Hon. Secretary 
of the Club is of opinion that they never will and 
that our one hope of spawning lies in the Horton 
Plains streams. On the other hand our streams 
here are not much warmer than, or very different 
from, some of the streams in New Zealand, where it 
took from ten to tw'elve years before the fish would 
spawn and the power of adaptation to environment, 
talent in all animals, trout included, is well worth 
waiting for and endeavouring to encourage. 
THE year’s record. 
Under this head the year’s record has been dis- 
appointing to the verge of disaster. 40,000 ova were 
ordered out at the end of 1896 from the usual source — 
the Surrey trout farm of the Messrs. Andrews. They 
arrived in two batches in January and February. 
Every possible precaution was taken to ensure their 
immediate di livery and rapid transport to Nuwara 
Eliya. The hatchery and trout house were in excel- 
lent order, the latter having been doubled in size. 
Unfortunately, Messrs. Andrews experienced great 
difficulty in finding properly appointed steamers to 
carry the ova, and in order not to miss the dates they 
shipped them by vessels where there were no proper 
ccldrooms and no sufficient store of ice. Nor were the 
boxes left undisturbed, but had obviously been turned 
up on end, and shifted about ruthlessly. The result was 
that the last batch was ruined and the second batch 
being near ly so. The eggs when unpacked instead of 
lying flat were found crushed together into a horrid 
mass of corruption and it took many hours’ hard work, 
day and night to extract the possible survivors. They, 
however, were so hopelessly affected by the corrup- 
tion of their neighbours, that fungus set in almost at 
once and spread with fatal rapidity ; so that eventually 
only 1,506 fry, were hatched and were distributed as 
follows : — 200 to Ambawella Oya ; 100 to Queen’s Cot- 
tage Stewpond ; 499 to Nuwara Eliya streams ; 400 to 
Buluhalu Oya and Kurundu Oya ; 500 to HortonPlains’ 
streams and Stewpond. It i n disappointing results 
butitis useless to cry over sp;li r i'kas over spilt oua. 
Messrs. Andrews, reduced their 1 .1 by about Jrd, and 
have promised to be more carelul in future as to 
shipping the ora, audit is hoped that arrangements 
have been made as regards the coming batches which 
will prevent the recurrence of such disasters. It 
may be some slight comfort to know that we are 
not the only Club that has to face such disappoint- 
ments, for the annual report of the Nilghiry Game 
and Fish Assooiatirn has a very similar tale to tell, 
aird even heavier losses to deplore. If it were neces- 
sary further to prove that ‘‘the best laid plans of 
trout and men gang aft a-glee ” two slight in- 
cidents might he mentioned which confirm the 
theciry. As it was an abnormally warm season when 
the ova arrived, we telegraphed to Colombo, for ice 
to lower the temperaUire in the filter boxes. It 
arrived packed in kerosine tins, ! nd so impregnated 
with oil that none of it could he used. Again 
about 40 of our few surviving fry suddenly died 
in 24 hours of no perceptible cause except a small 
red spot on the gullet. A careful search through 
