The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 147 



there to die. A great migration of grown eels in spring or 

 summer has never been reported, and it appears certain that 

 all the female eels which have once found their way to the sea 

 are lost to the fisherman. 



Food of the Eel. Eels, in the words of Mr. W. H. Ballou, 

 are "among the most voracious of carnivorous fishes. They 

 eat most inland fishes, except the garfish and the chub. Inves- 

 tigation of six hundred stomachs by Oswego fishermen showed 

 that the latter bony fish never had a place in their bill of fare. 

 They are particularly fond of game-fishes, and show the delicate 

 taste of a connoisseur in their selection from choice trout, bass, 

 pickerel, and shad. They fear not to attack any object when 

 disposed, and their bite in human flesh shows even a vicious 

 attitude towards man. On their hunting excursions they over- 

 turn huge and small stones alike, working for hours if neces- 

 sary, beneath which they find species of shrimp and crayfish, 

 of which they are exceedingly fond. Of shrimps they devour 

 vast numbers. Their noses are poked into every imaginable 

 hole in their search for food, to the terror of innumerable small 

 fishes." 



In the opinion of Mr. Ballou, too, "eels are to the water 

 what the fishhawk is to the air. They are, perhaps, the most 

 powerful and rapid of natatorians. Again, they hide in the 

 mud beneath some log or overhanging rock, and dart out with 

 tremendous fury at the unsuspecting prey. They attack the 

 spawn of other fishes open-mouthed, and are even said to suck 

 the eggs from an impaled female. They fearlessly and rapidly 

 dive head-foremost in the mud, disappearing from view in the 

 twinkling of a star. They are owl-like in their habits, commit- 

 ting many of their depredations at night. 



"No fish is yet reported to utilize a full-grown eel as food. 

 Pickerel, garfish, and bass, which are particularly numerous 

 in these lakes, are supposed to literally devour the young fry. 

 Mr. Sawyer describes the operation of the pickerel darting 

 through a long column of young eels open-mouthed and de- 

 vouring vast numbers of them." 



Larva of the Eel. The translucent band-shaped larva of 

 the common eel has been very recently identified and described 

 by Dr. Eigenmann. It is probable that all true eels, Enchely- 



