FISHES AND FISHING. 153 



Mr. Young, of Invershin, states, that he has bred 

 eels from' the ova and milt of a male and female eel. 

 And a magistrate of the county of Salop declares, 

 that he has seen a lump taken out of an eel the size of 

 a nutmeg, which being placed in water, gradually sepa 

 rated and proved to be young eels, which swam about. 

 As there are several species of eels, and both these 

 authorities are unimpeachable, may not some eels be 

 oviparous, and others viviparous? (Walton's " Com 

 plete Angler," Edited by Ephemera, note, p. 181.) 



Eels go down rivers into brackish water, or proba 

 bly into the sea, in the autumnal months ; whether 

 they return to the fresh water is a matter of doubt. 

 Eels also migrate from one pond or river to another, 

 during rainy weather, by wriggling amongst wet 

 grass from place to place. 



Ammodytes Gosnere, the sand eel, or launce, is a 

 small fish, seldom a foot in length ; the males are the 

 largest in size ; they are delicate as food, and excel 

 lent as bait for other fish ; they lie from six inches to 

 a foot in the sand of the sea shore, and are caught by 

 raking with a kind of hook made on purpose. 



The conger eel is found in the sea ; it is often 

 caught of a very large size ; it is sometimes taken by 

 the French fishermen eight to ten inches in circum 

 ference, and five to six feet long, and is so strong in 

 its motions, that it is always killed as soon as pos- 



