ANGUILLA. ^ 241 



people may be seen spearing eels through holes cut 

 in the ice. The occasional appearance of them 

 in pools, and inland basins, is referable to their 

 migratory propensity, which satisfactorily explains 

 what the farmers have sometimes considered 

 a phenomenon. We are assured that in ex- 

 tremely cold weather, they exhibit an electrical 

 property. 



It has been affirmed that the gastric juice of 

 several fishing birds has no solvent power on the 

 living eel, when swallowed ; and it has moreover 

 been asserted, on good authority, that it has been 

 seen to make its escape uninjured, from the her- 

 on, after having been swallowed. Admitting this 

 to be true, it will account, to some extent, for the 

 universal distribution of this species of eel, not 

 only over the New England States, but over the 

 interior of this vast country. That birds convey 

 the spawn of fishes, as they carry the seeds of 

 plants, over the whole continent, is as certain as 

 any fact in the range of natural history. 



In the bay of New York, this eel has been 

 known to weigh twelve pounds. The largest on 

 record in this country, was caught in a bay of 

 Long Island, and weighed sixteen and a half 

 pounds. In Boston harbor they rarely exceed 

 five pounds, though specimens are occasionally 

 exhibited, a yard in length. 

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