HOW THE HEATHEN CHINEE CATCHES FISH.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4147, 6 July 1874, Page 3

HOW THE HEATHEN CHINEE CATCHES FISH.

o M. do Thiersaut, lately a French consul in China, has published in France a quite interesting work on pisciculture and the modo of fishing in that country. He states, among other facts, that over 850 different kinds of fish exist in Chiueso waters, many of which are of species hitherto unknown to European naturalists. Soveral varieties have for centuries been selected as fit for food and cultivation, and hence pisciculture or the ordinary domestic raising of fish, an industry here in its infancy, is far from a novel idea in tho Celestial Empire. The author presents a vast number of interesting details on his general topic, from among which we select the following curious ideas : Tho cormorant is largely employed as an assistant to tho fisherman, and is carefully educated to its work by professional trainers. When thoroughly trained, a pair of birds is worth 40 dollars, tho high price being explained by tho cost and labor of instruction. During the first seven months of its life, the cormorant is left with the flock and is taught by its elders how to feed itself on small fish. After that age, however, a collar is fastened about its nock so that it cannot swallow its prey, and to one of its feet a cord some two feet long is attached, terminating in a bamboo float. At a signal from the fisherman, whose solo implement is a forked stick some ten feet long, the cormorants plunge into tho water and search for fish, each bird, as fast as he catches one in his beak, rising to the surface. The fisherman then hooks the bird's float with his stick and draws it towards him, talcing the fish away from the cormorant as soon as it comes within reach of his arm. When tho fish is very large and weighs seven or eight pounds, for example, the'

cormorants will assist each otliei', one catching the fish by the tail, another by the head, &c. They rarely catch anything weighing less than a quarter of a pound. After every capture a small bit of fish is thrown to the bird as a reward, the piece being sufficiently little for it to swallow in spite of its collar. Chinese fishermen keep their feathered assistants at work as long as daylight lasts. Occasionally the birds become tired and refuse to dive, a proceeding which occasions a series of frightful yells and beating of the water with a stick by their master, which frightens them to such an extent that they resume labor instantly. This mode of fishing, which is not interrupted even by severe cold, is quite lucrative, as twenty or thirty birds can readily catch about a dollar and a half worth of fish per day. In general the fishermen are associated, and the birds belong to a society which marks them with a peculiar brand of its own. Oil of sesame is said to be the panacea for all ills of the cormorant, which continues its career of active work until about ten years of age. The Chinese have also queer ways of catching water fowl. Sometimes they spread great vertical nets with large meshes near the surface of the water, so that the wings of the birds become entangled therein just before they alight. Another arrangement is a sort of net trap held open by the bamboo sticks which, when the birds perch upon them, fall and allow the game to become entangled in the meshes. Perhaps the most ingenious idea is carried out by men who enter the water entirely nude, wading in up to their necks. Over the head is placed a sort of helmet, which is pierced with holes for sight, breathing, &c. ; and resting on the man's shoulders is a wooden shelf on which, just in front of the sight orifices of the helmet, is placed a number of cups containing corn or seed. The bird, attracted by the bait, alights upon the shelf, when the fowler grabs his prey by the legs with his hand, draws it under the surface, and secures it in a net bag which is worn about his waist.