134 THE ANGLERS GUIDE. 



and all night. Large Eels, especially those caught 

 in rivers, are considered nutritious food, but, at the 

 same time, are known to be hard of digestion ; there- 

 fore, those who attend to their health as well as gra- 

 tifying their palate, should be careful that this Fish 

 is well dressed, or thoroughly done, before it is eaten j 

 to effect which, they should he parboiled before they 

 are spit-chucked, (commonly called pitch-cocked,) 

 fried, broiled, or baked in a pie. 



Observations on Eels. 



Eels live many years, and grow to a very large size^ 

 even to measure a yard and a half in length, and 

 weighing more than fifteen pounds. They are fond 

 of water with a muddy or sandy bottom, but yet 

 they do not love muddy water ; and, if in a river, 

 they prefer the still parts, lying under large chalk- 

 stones, and stumps or roots of trees, between piles, 

 planking, or in holes in the banks, from which they 

 seldom move during the day. In Winter, they coil 

 themselves up, and lie in numbers together, buried 

 in the mud and sand, in a torpid state, until the 

 Spring. So tenacious are Eels of life, that they will 

 live many days out of water and without food, until 

 they are almost putrid atid become offensive to the 

 olfactory nerve. 



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