394 FISHES. 



regarded by the trawling men so, at least, they aver 

 as the young of the common sole, as to have gained 



thereby some fame which would not otherwise 

 Solenette. . . . 



have belonged to it. In colour this fish is of 



a yellowish grey, having numerous small dark spots, as 

 well as black lines at intervals on the fins. 



CHAPTER XVII. THE EELS. 



Of eels we have, besides the murry (a straggler), two, the 

 fresh-water eel and the conger. The eel-pout and sand-eel 

 are of course distinct. The female of both our eels is 

 always the larger, and the so-called species of river eel are 

 only the different sexes. Considerable mystery surrounded 

 the breeding of both eel and conger, and only lately has 

 the difficulty been solved by Italian biologists. 



The Common Eel, its small scales embedded so as to 

 give the impression of a scaleless fish, is one of our most 

 familiar fishes. In colour it is green or brown 

 above, yellow or white beneath ; the upper jaw 

 protrudes ; the eyes and teeth are of small size. The female 

 the so called "Sharp-nosed" eel exceeds a length of 

 3 feet ; the male the " Broad-nosed " eel of some authors 

 has not been recorded as measuring quite 20 inches. 

 Like the flounder, this fish descends in autumn to spawn 

 in the sea, and it seems certain that it dies after spawn- 

 ing, as the adult fish are not seen reascending the rivers 

 like the elvers at the end of winter. I have taken 

 numbers of females in August off the east breakwater 

 at Hastings, which are known to work westward along 

 the rocky foreshore from Rye Harbour. Elvers, as the 

 young are called, are also known to cross fields of damp 



