FISH AND FISHING IN THE INLE LAKE. 
1041 
The floating islands, as already stated, surround the lake in a ring. The}^ are 
formed entirely of growing and decaying vegetation. The first stage in their 
formation is the growing out, either from the shore or from an already 
formed island, of long shoots of various grasses and sedges which float 
on the surface. Among these shoots floating water-2>lants, such as the 
water-lettuce, duckweed, etc., get entangled and also much vegetable 
debris, including the topmost branches of the submerged plant Najas' 
which are killed as the water sinks in the dry season, partly by dessication, 
partly by the heat of the sun, and partly by the luxuriant growth of 
alg;e of the family Rivulareacese encouraged by this heat. Other shoots 
of similar plants and the floating masses of other weeds such as Ammania 
rotundifolia also get entangled. The peculiar chemical composition of the water 
transforms the dead parts of all this vegetation into a kmd of peat, which soon 
forms a fertile soil held together on the surface by the roots of the growing jrlants. 
A rich flora springs up on this soil, including both ferns and numerous flowering 
plants such as orchids of two species and a jreculiar Utricidaria with yellow and 
purple flowers. This plant produces its flowers on long trailing stems which 
twist up the reeds to a height of several feet. A large shrub (Cephalanthus occi- 
dentaUs) also grows on the floating islands and in places forms regular thickets 
amongst the tall grasses and sedges. 
The floating islands are of primary importance in the economy of the Intha. 
Pieces of them can be cut off with iron spades and towed to any convenient 
spot. They are used for a great variety of purposes ; as cemeteries it is 
said, and certainly for horticulture, in fisheries, and as break-waters to protect- 
houses built out on the lake. Our concern here is with them as fishing appliances. 
Any fisherman can, without cost to himself, cut off an island of suitable size, 
tie it to his boat by means of the reeds growing upon it and ropes made by twist- 
ing these reeds together, and tow it away anywhere on the lake ; or if he 
is too occupied or too unskilled himself, he can hire somebody else to do all 
this for him, paying accordmg to a recognized tariff based on the size of 
the island detached. Towards the latter end of March the process may 
be watched daily. A long stri^r of island, commonly of a hundred feet 
in length and five or six feet in width, is first cut off and tied to a boat, 
which is fastened at the side towards one end. The boatman, rvho is some- 
times quite a small boy, laboriously poles the mass along until he reaches 
the appointed site. The island is then manoeuvred until its long axis 
points directly across the lake and is fixed in this position by means of 
numerous long bamboo poles thrust through it down into the water and into the 
soft mud of the bottom. All of this is usually a day’s work and sometimes 
the island-cutter — a recognised profession amongst the Intha — has to anchor 
his island temporarily for the night before he reaches its halting-place. 
Once in position he proceeds to cut off from one end of the island a piece 
about as long as broad. This he releases by pulling out the pole, or poles, 
thi’ust through it and tows it away to some distance in a straight line with the 
main piece. When he has towed it far enough he anchors it again with the 
pole and cuts off another piece of the same size, which he treats in the same 
way. The division and the towing-out of fragments of the original strip con- 
tinues until there is a regular line of little islets extending out across the lake 
at regular intervals for a distance of several hundred yards. 
Each of these islands is a trap, or rather a decoy, for fish. The main breeding- 
season in the lake begins just about the time that the islets are floated out and 
for most freshwater fish in tropical Asia the one essential at sprawning time is 
cover and a suitable nidus. For these reasons the fish are attracted to the shade 
of the islets and are there caught at night by means of dip-nets and various other 
kinds of nets. 
