EELS IX WATER PIPES AND THEIR MIGRATION. — HISHOP. G41 



therefore tlie nuitiire eel never returns again to the fresh water. 

 He also shows with others, that the female eel o-vows to a much 

 e-reater size than the male eel, while the hitter rarely exceeds 

 a ioot or fourteen inches iii length, although the female fre- 

 quently attains a length of six feet, anil a w(Mght of from twelve 

 to fifteen pounds. 



The fact that the eel has to seek such great depths in the 

 open ocean in order to hecome sexually develo[)ed, and has to 

 remove itself far from the usual haunts of man, and the further 

 facts that special ships and apparatus had to be fitted out for its 

 capture, and that but very few localities on the globe are 

 available for the study of the mature lish and its young, were 

 the causes which prevented scientists from learning sooner the 

 secrets of its life history. 



As there is still a great deal left to be learned, from the fact 

 that this fish is noctural and secretive in its habit, I thought it 

 might be of some interest to place before you the result of some 

 investigations I have made during the past few years regarding 

 its habits. 



Since the water system was installed in Dartmouth in 1892, 

 until 1004, eels caused considerable trouble by getting into the 

 main pipe at the intake, and thence finding their Avay through 

 the mains to the service pipes in the town, and plugging them 

 up. The lakes from which we draw our supply are about 

 eight miles from the sea by following the stream. This stream 

 passes through other small lakes before reaching tlie salt water. 



The time of year when eels gave us most trouble was during 

 the mo'nths of September and October. At this season men 

 were constantly employed in digging ud the service pipes to 

 take out these obstructions. It almost invariably happened that 

 the services which were troubled most by them were the ones 

 having leaky fixtures. The eel imprisoned in the pipes would 

 be constantly feeling for any current whereby it might escape, 

 and Avould thus get into the services. Digging up so many 

 pipes l)eing so expensive, and also damaging to a well finished 



