FISHES. 105 



have been cut oft' from the sea, the supply of eels has diminished, and after a time only 

 scattering individuals, old and of great size, are taken in them. An instance of this 

 sort occurred in Lake 3Iuskeiigorf, in West Prussia. If an instance of the reproduc- 

 tion of the eel in fresh water could be found, such occurrences as these would be quite 

 inexplicable. 



" In the upper stretches of long rivers the migration of the eels begins in April or 

 May ; in their lower stretches and shorter streams, later in the season. In all running 

 waters the eel fishery depends upon the downward migrations ; the eels press up the 

 streams with occasional halts, remaining here and there for short periods, but always 

 make their way above. They a])pear to make the most progress during dark nights, 

 when the water is troubled and stormy, for at this time they are captured in the greatest 

 numbers. It is probable that after the eels have once returned to the sea and there 

 deposited their spawn, they never can return into fresh water, but remain there to 

 die. A great migration of grown eels in spring or summer has never been reported, 

 and it appears certain that all the female eels which have once found their way to the 

 sea are lost to the fisherman." 



Eels, in the words of Mr. W. Ballon, are "among the most voracious of carnivorous 

 fishes. They eat most inland fishes, except the gar-fish and the chub. Investigation 

 of six' hundred stomachs by Oswego fishermen showed that the latter bony fish never 

 had a j)]ace on their bill of fare. They are particularly fond of game fishes, and show 

 the delicate taste of a connoisseur in their selection from choice trout, bass, pickerel, 

 and shad. They fear not to attack any object when disposed, and their bite in human 

 flesh shows even a vicious attitude towards man. On their hunting excursions they 

 overturn huge and small stones alike, working for hours if necessary, beneath which 

 they find species of shrimp and crayfish, of whicli they are exceedingly fond. Of 

 shrimjjs they devour vast numbers. Their noses are poked into every imaginable hole 

 in their search for food, to the terror of innumerable small fishes." 



In the opinion of Mr. Ballou, too, " eels are to the water what the fish-hawk is to 

 the air. They are, perhaps, the most powerful and rapid of natatoriaiis. Again, they 

 hide in the mud beneath some log or overhanging rock, and dart out with tremendous 

 fury at the unsuspecting prey. They attack the spawn of other fi.shes open-mouthed, 

 and are even said to suck the eggs from an impaled female. They fearlessly and 

 rapidly dive head foremost in the mud, disappearing from view in the twinkling of a 

 star. They are owl-like in their habits, committing many of their depredations at 

 night. 



"No fish is yet reported to utilize a full-grown eel as food. Pickerel, gar-fish, and 

 bass, which are particularly numerous in these lakes, are supposed to literally devour 

 the young fry. Mr. Sawyer describes the operation of the pickerel darting through a 

 long column of young eels, open-mouthed, and devouring vast numbers of them." 



The CoNGRiD-«, otherwise named congers or sea eels, are closely related to the 

 Anguillidae, and also have a moderately extended ethmo-vomerine region, moderately 

 elongate and attenuated jaws, and well developed opercular apparatus, but the ptery- 

 goid bones are better developed and almost perfect in front, and the dorsal commences 

 close behind the head. No scales exist in any of the known species. Several genera 

 have been associated with the tyjiical conger as representatives of the same family. 

 That exemplified by the common conger is, however, the only one common to the 

 northern temperate seas. No specific differences have been discovered between the 

 forms living on the eastern and those found on the western sides of the Atlantic. 



