SHARP-NOSED EEL. 389 



Eels that have lain in brackish water all the winter under 

 the constant influence of the higher temperature of that 

 locality, probably deposit their spawn earlier in the spring 

 than those which have passed the winter in places from which 

 there existed for them no possible egress. In the Mole, the 

 Wey, the Longford river, and in some large ponds, the 

 Eels in the spring of 1883 did not deposit their spawn till 

 near the end of April ; but in two Eels from Sheerness 

 received and examined on the 18th of May, the internal 

 appearances induced me to believe that the roes had been 

 passed some time. How long the ova remain deposited 

 before the young Eel is produced, is, I believe, unknown. 

 The duration of this interval is very variable in different 

 fishes. The roe of the Herring, deposited at the end of 

 October or the beginning of November, is said to become 

 living fry within three weeks : the ova of Eels, the produce 

 of which is very small, do not probably require a longer 

 period. Both the parent Eels and the fry occupying the 

 brackish water appear to have the power of going either to 

 the salt water or to the fresh without inconvenience, from 

 the previous preparation which the respiratory organs have 

 undergone, and many of both are found in pure sea water : 

 the great bulk of the young, however, certainly ascend the 

 stream of the river, and their annual appearance in certain 

 places is looked for with some interest. The passage of 

 young Eels up the Thames at Kingston in the year 1832 

 commenced on the 30th of April, and lasted till the 4th of 

 May ; but I believe I am correct in stating that few young 

 Eels were observed to pass up the Thames either in the year 

 1834 or 1835. Some notion may be formed of the quantity 

 of young Eels, each about three inches long, that pass up 

 the Thames in the spring, and in other rivers at the beginning 

 of summer, from the circumstance that it was calculated by 

 two observers of the progress of the young Eels at Kingston 



