CONGER EEL. 235 



habits ; and the Caspian and the Black Sea 

 are probably without them, from their not 

 being found in the Volga or Danube ; these, 

 being shallow seas, are perhaps too cold for 

 them in winter. From the time (April) that 

 small eels begin to migrate, it is probable 

 that they are generated in winter ; and the 

 pregnant eels ought to be looked for in No- 

 vember, December, and January. I opened 

 one in December, in which the fringes were 

 abundant, but I did not examine them under 

 the microscope, or chemically. I trust this 

 curious problem will not remain much longer 

 unsolved. 



