SMELT AND EEL 
Smelt.—Osmerus eperlanus (Fig. 39). Also known as 
the Sparling. This small species rarely attains a length 
of more than 12 inches, and 8 ounces in weight. It 
moves about in shoals, and is a voracious feeder. The 
scales are transparent, and the silver colour is relieved 
with olive-green along the back. The Smelt visits fresh 
water for spawning purposes early in the Spring, and 
there are a few land-locked waters where it appears to 
do well all round the year. It is a valuable fish for food. 
It feeds upon other fishes, as well as shrimps, worms, and 
aquatic creatures of various kinds. The yellow eggs are 
shed promiscuously, and become attached to any objects 
with which they happen to come into contact. The 
eggs hatch in 7 to 21 days, and the young visit the sea 
for the first time when ready to look after themselves, 
paying their first return visit to fresh water the succeed- 
ing Spring. ‘They commence to be egg-producers when 
about three years old. ‘The word Smelt is apparently 
derived from the Anglo-Saxon Smeolt, meaning smooth 
and shining. 
Eel.— Anguilla vulgaris (Fig. 40). This interesting 
species acts in an exactly reverse way to the Salmon, as 
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