The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 143 



falls will be astonished at the enormous numbers of young 

 eels crawling over the slippery rocks and squirming in the 

 seething whirlpools. An estimate of hundreds of wagon-loads, 

 as seen in the course of the perilous journey referred to, would 

 hardly be considered excessive by those who have visited the 

 spot at a suitable season of the year." "At other times large 

 eels may be seen on their way down-stream, although natu- 

 rally they are not as conspicuous then as are the hosts of the 

 young on their way up-stream. Nevertheless it is now a well- 

 assured fact that the eels are catadromous, that is, that the 



FIG. 101. Common Eel, Anguilla chrisypa Rafinesque. Holyoke, Mass. 



old descend the watercourses to the salt water to spawn, and 

 the young, at least of the female sex, ascend them to enjoy life 

 in the fresh water." 



Reproduction of the Eel. Dr. Gill ("Riverside Natural His- 

 tory," p. 103) gives the following account of the reproduction 

 of Anguilla: 



"The generation of the eel was long involved in great 

 mystery, and the knowledge thereof is one of the recent acqui- 

 sitions of scientific investigation. So late, indeed, as 1880 it 

 was declared that 'their mode of propagation is still unknown.' 

 In want of positive knowledge the rein has been given to loose 

 hypothesis and conjecture. It has been variously asserted that 

 eels were generated from slime, from dew, and from the skins 

 of old eels or of snakes. The statement that they come from 

 horse-hairs is familiar to many country boys, and the origin 

 of this belief is due simply to the fact that there are certain 

 aquatic worms, known under the generic name Gordius, which 

 are elongated and apparently smooth like the eel, and which 



