324 GENERAL ZOOLOGY 



and the scales reduced to almost invisible rudiments. Loco- 

 motion is effected by snake-like movements of the body. The 

 common eel (Anguil'la chrys'ypa) of North America is found 

 along the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to Central 

 America, and in most streams and ponds in the Eastern 

 states which are accessible from the sea. The young are 

 hatched at or near the surface of the ocean. They are so en- 

 tirely different from the adult eel that for a long time they 

 were thought to be a distinct genus of fish. After about a year 



Fig. 166. A sturgeon 1 



of life in the ocean waters, drifting here and there without 

 feeding, they find their way in countless numbers up the va- 

 rious streams. Here they complete their development and 

 return to the sea to spawn. After providing for the new 

 generation the adult eels die, never returning to fresh water. 

 Life of the Salmon. David Starr Jordan of Stanford Univer- 

 sity is one of the world's greatest authorities on fishes. He 

 states, " Of all the families of fishes, the one most interesting 

 from almost every point of view is that of the Salmonidx, 

 the Salmon family." There are several species of salmon 

 on the Pacific coast and one species on the Atlantic. In 

 1925 the salmon canneries, especially in Oregon, Wash- 

 ington, and Alaska, produced canned salmon of more than 

 $47,000,000 value. This is just about one half of the value 

 of the total canned-fish industry of the entire country. 



1 From The Fishes of Illinois by Forbes and Richardson. 



