COMMON KKL. 



1033 



of till' (tuiIcii, wliicli falls into Itandcrs l-jord (llic Ciit- 

 teg!>t), 1'"ki)I)i;i{sk\" fouiitl auioiii;' ilcsccndiiiii' Iv-ls 2'/„ 

 — 4 ilin. luiiu' numbers of uimIcs with \'cllo\v liclly, 

 aiiioiiiitin;^- lit the tirst-nientimicil place to St) \k'V cent 

 of the catch. In Lakes Hjul, Bras, and Avn, within 

 the same river-liasin, similar males were taken with 

 Kel-seiiies. A month later (15th — 17th .lulv) tiie males 

 in and near the Lakes of Silkesborg had hegini to de- 

 velo]» the white belly of the migratory dress, but judging 

 by the take were fewer. He made similar observations 

 at Maarup Mill, between Lakes Orum and ()\e, on the 

 other side of Liim Fjord, and in Westen-see (Province 

 of Rendsburg, Holstein). It thus seemed probal)le at 

 all tiiese places that a descent of young Eels, es])ecially 

 males, takes jilace in summer, before tlie general descent 

 of older females commences. The males, likt' the fe- 

 males, consecjucnth' siiend a ]iortion of their lilV' in fresh 

 water; but the assumption that the Eel s])awns in fresh 

 water, side by side with its normal breeding-season in 

 the sea, first recpiires authoritative confirmation. 



Not all the Eel-fr\', as we have seen, ascend into 

 fresh water during the tirst year of their existence; nor 

 do all females of a size that indicates maturity under- 

 take miirrations. In the lagoons of C'omacchio the fisher- 



In recent times ichtln'ologists have been most in- 

 clined to the belief that after spawning the Eel dies'. 

 This opinion ma\' be correct, for it is jiartly true of 

 the Salmonoids, and a]>plies to the Lampreys, from 

 which the l-^els do not difl'er widely in the structure 

 of the generative organs. On one or two occasions 

 dead I'.els, spent, as it is stated, have been found on 

 the seashore, and a skipper is said to have sailed some 

 distance in the North Sea among dead Eels, floating at 

 the surface. Large Eels have never been found mi- 

 grating in an\' number to fresh water. But this is no 

 ade(]uate solution (jf tiie point, for that a re-ascent may 

 take place, though it is seldom observed, appears from 

 Robin's'' discovery of female Eels, with the stomach 

 full of niaiine animals — Annelids (Juinire sanf/uinea) 

 and shellfish {l>(>iis) — which thev had brought far up 

 the Adour, 40 kiloni. from the sea. The so-called hlol- 

 dlar and sliikuhir in the sea must also be taken into 

 consideration. The\ ai'(> demonstrably not always .ste- 

 rile, nor has it yet been pnncd that the larger among 

 them have never spawned. 



The Eel is greedily preyed on bv mammals, such 

 as otters, seals, and dolphins, by piscivorous birds, and 

 by larger fishes; but its most destructive enemy is 



men have long been aware of this, and call the large ' undoubtedl}' man. To a good digestion its flesh is one 



Eels that do not migrate FaschdV'. Near the same 

 locality these forms are also found in the sea, off the 

 coast; and Jacoby described them as broad-snouted, 

 small-eyed, yellow-bellied, high-finned, and with glassy 

 ovaries, destitute of fat and containing transparent eggs 



of the most excellent foods, whether boiled or fried 

 — less indigestible in the latter form — fresh or salted, 

 smoked or marinaded. The young are made in many 

 places into Eel-cake (cf. above, p. 973). The tough 

 skin of the Eel has been most generally employed as 



with little, if any, granulation. He explains them too material for flail-thongs. 



as sterile females; but whether this sterility is ])erma- 

 nent or temporary, still remains an open ipiestion, for 

 nian\- broad-nosed Eels have ovaries of normal develop- 

 ment. In Sweden the'S' are known on account of their 

 voracity as sliik-ol (ravenous Eel), the Danish khepctl. 

 They do not rove in shoals, but lead a more solitary 

 life; yet are often caught, for thev freely take a hook. 



The great Eel-fisheries have contributed in a liigh 

 degree to our knowledge of the Eel's habits, for the 

 method of setting his tackle which the fisherman has 

 learnt from the experience of ages best indicates how 

 the Eel comes and goes. \Mien the Eel descends the 

 rivers, large or small lanor, a kind of seine with fine 

 meshes in the bosom, are stretched across the channel, 



the best bait being Roach. Jacobv extols their de- i or Eel-traps (a/Z/M.s) are constructed in the slopes of the 



licious flesh, "which melts in the mouth". Kuovkk ' streams. These are timbered like log-houses, but on 



describes their flesh as hard, dv\, and lean, and the lower side chinks are left between the logs, wide 



their skin as hard and tough. The difference may enough to allow of the passage of the water, but too 



easily be due to the recencv or remoteness of the narrow for the Eel to slip through. On the side facing 



spawning-season. the current a hole is made, in which is inserted a 



■■ Dansk Fiskerilidende 1893, p. .333. 



* "Pasturers". 



' See Jacoby, 1. c, p. 55. 



<> Comptes Rendus, Fevr. 21, 1881, p. 382. 



