[13] THE EEL QUESTION. 475 



50 marks ($11.90) to any one who will send to Professor Virckow, at Ber- 

 lin, an eel in a state of pregnancy, sufficiently advanced to throw some 

 ligkt on the propagation of the eel." The Eoyal Superintendent of 

 Fisheries, Mr. Dallmer, in Sckleswig, kad volunteered to forward letters 

 and eels to Berlin, and in tke January numbers, 1878, of tke "Deutscke 

 Fisckerie-Zeitung," publisked at Stettin, he gave a long and interesting 

 report. He says, in the course of his remarks, that he had by no means 

 counted on having the above-mentioned notice published in nearly every 

 German paper, from the Bhine to the Vistula, and from the Alps to the 

 sea. At first he was delighted with the number of letters he received; 

 next he was astonished, and finally he was horrified, and had to refuse to 

 forward any more letters. At the same time an equally large number of 

 letters, &c, had been sent direct to Berlin, to Dr. Virchow, from all parts 

 of Germany. Dozens of so-called young eels, all said to have been cut out 

 of grown eels, were sent to him, and invariably turned out to be intes- 

 tinal worms ; the most incredible statements were made in letters, es- 

 pecially by ladies, regarding large eggs which they said had been found 

 in eels Finally, Mr. Dallmer was compelled to publish the fol- 

 lowing notice in the "Schleswiger Nackrickten": " Sin ce the German 

 Fishery Association has promised a reward for a pregn ant eel, the de- 

 sire to obtain this reward, as well as inquisitiveness and a sincere desire 

 for knowledge, have greatly excited a large number of people. I had 

 offered to forward letters, &c, to Berlin, but the enormous increase of 

 my expenses for postage has induced me to ask all senders kencefortk 

 to send every tking direct to Berlin to Professor Virckow. I am com- 

 pelled to direct tke attention of tke public to a few matters in tkis con- 

 nection. Tke reward will only be paid for a pregnant eel, and not for 

 its contents alone, for if tke latter alone are sent, tkere is no guarantee 

 tkat tkey really came from an eel. Tke eel should therefore be sent in 

 all cases. Most of the senders have sent me only the intestines, or also 

 the supposed young of the eel, which invariably turned out to be intes- 

 tinal worms. Most of the senders had eaten the eel, and nevertheless 

 requested to have the 50 marks forwarded to tkem, often by return 

 mail." By directing tke unceasing current of letters, packages, &c, to 

 Professor Virckow's address, Mr. Dallmer kad not rendered a service to 

 tke professor; for very soon a notice appeared in several papers, by Pro- 

 fessor Virckow, urgently requesting people not to forward anything 

 more. Some Berlin funny papers thereupon published a notice that 

 henceforth all eels sent to scientists should be smoked. This episode 

 will skow, kowever, kow great and kow general an interest was taken 

 in tke eel question. 



In January, 1879, tke "Zoologiscke Anzeiger," publisked at Leipsic 

 by Victor Carus,* contained a notice tkat a Mr. Edwards, of New Bed- 



*In No. 18, January 13, 1879. Tho notice has been taken from Putnam in the 

 "Proceedings of the Bostou Society of Natural History," and communicated by 

 Prof. A. S. Packard. The eels were said to have been caught in brackish water uear 

 Providence. 



