102 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



bottom until tliey grow, tbrongli consumption of ricli food substances 

 there to be found, to a size from 1 to 3 centimeters. When they have 

 attained this size they begin their wanderings in immense schools, i)ro- 

 ceediug to ascend into the rivers and lakes. These wanderings of the 

 young eels have been known for a very long time ; for instance, in the 

 lagoons of Comacchio, in which they may be found, for the most part, 

 after they have gained the length of from 6 to 8 millimeters, and in 

 France, later also in England, Denmark, Sweden, and, more recently, in 

 Germany they have also been observed. 



According to the French reports young eels are hatched out early in 

 the winter, and in February, having attained the length of 4 or 5 centi- 

 meters, they appear in the brackish water at the mouth of the Loire in 

 immense numbers, soon to begin their wanderings up the stream. They 

 swim in crowded schools at the surface of the river right up to the banks, 

 and little detachments of the army deploy at the mouth of each tributary 

 and pursue their wanderings along its course. These swarms of young 

 eels are called in France " Moutee," in Italy, " Montata." The number 

 of the young fish is, as might be expected from the number of the eggs 

 in the ovary of the eel, wonderfully large. Eedi has recounted that from 

 the end of January to the end of Aj^ril the young fish continue wander- 

 ing up the Arno, and that in 18G7 over 3,000,000 pounds of them were 

 taken in five hours. Into the lagoons of the Comacchio the eels pour 

 from February to April. In March and April they have been noticed in 

 many French rivers, in which the migration continues for from eight to 

 fourteen days. The first account of these wanderings in Germany was 

 that given by Von Ehlers. In 1863 he wrote to Von Siebold : " This 

 took place about ten years ago, in the village of Drennhausen, in the 

 Province of Wesen, in the Kingdom of Hanover. As we were walking, 

 towards the end of June or the beginning of July, on a dike, which at 

 that place projects out into the Elbe, we noticed that along the entire^ 

 shore there might be seen a moving band of a dark color. Since every- 

 thing which takes i:>lace in tbe Elbe is of interest to the inhabitants of 

 that region, this phenomenon immediately attracted attention, and it 

 soon became apparent that this dark band was composed of an innumer- 

 able body of young eels, which were pressing against each other, as, at 

 the surface of the stream, they were forcing their way upwards towards 

 its source, while they kept themselves so close to the shore that they fol- 

 lowed all its bendings and curves. The width of this band of fish at the 

 place where it was observed (where the Elbe has a considerable depth) 

 was perhaps a foot, but how deep it was could not be observed, so 

 thickly crowded together were the young eels. As they swam a great 

 number could be taken in a bucket, and it was very annoying to the peo- 

 ple who lived along the Elbe that so long as the procession of fish lasted 

 no water could be taken out of the river which was not full of the little 

 fish. The length of the young eels was, on an average, from 3 to 4 inches ; 

 the thickness of the body was about equal to that of a goose-quill. By 



