THE EEL 157 



very doubtful there can be no question that they 

 migrate across country from one piece of water to 

 another on a damp night, being able to live a long time 

 out of water ; two small Eels kept by the writer 

 in an aquarium passed most of the day buried in 

 the sand at the bottom, but night after night they 

 made their escape and were always found in the 

 morning on the other side of the room apparently 

 dead ; however, when returned to the water they 

 swam about, none the worse for their excursion. 



Towards the autumn a certain number of the 

 Yellow Eels, but never any less than a foot long, 

 put on their breeding dress and prepare to migrate 

 to the sea ; in other words, they change into Silver 

 Eels. These, which are often termed " Sharp-nosed 

 Eels," differ from the Yellow Eels in that the eyes 

 are larger and not turned upwards, the snout is less 

 flattened, the body is more rounded, plumper, and 

 firmer to the touch, the pectoral fins are longer and 

 more pointed and blackish in colour ; the back is 

 blackish and is separated from the silvery white of 

 the lower parts by a lateral stripe of bronze. Inter- 

 nally they differ from the Yellow Eels in that the 

 sexual organs are riper and the digestive tract is 

 shrunken. 



The Silver Eels feed but little, and in the late 

 summer and autumn migrate to the sea, and then 

 make their way into the depths of the North Atlantic 

 or of the Mediterranean, if they come from the 

 countries bordering that sea, where they breed. 

 With the practical cessation of feeding the jaw- 

 muscles decrease in size, so that the head of the 

 sometime " Frog-mouthed Eels " loses its abnormal 

 appearance. The adoption of a silvery livery before 



