492 Fishes. 



THE CONGER, OB SEA EEL, (Conger vulgaris,) 



Is very largo and thick. Its body is dusky above, and 

 silvery below; the dorsal and anal fins are edged with 

 black ; and the lateral line is dotted with white. Its 

 flesh is firm, and was much esteemed by the ancients. 

 It is still eaten by the poorer classes, especially in sea- 

 side towns, but would be considered coarse and tasteless 

 by most people in the present day. 



The voracity of the Conger Eel is very great, and it is 

 one of the most powerful enemies with which the fisher- 

 men of the British islands have to contend. Being usually 

 caught by a hook and line, it requires some care to land 

 and kill the large ones without danger. We are informed 

 that, on such occasions, they have been known to en- 

 twine themselves round the legs of a fisherman, and fight 

 with the utmost fury. They are almost incredibly 

 strong and tenacious of life. When pulled up by the 

 line and landed in a boat, they make a loud, hoarse, 

 grating sound, almost resembling the angry snarling 

 of a dog, which often terrifies the amateur fisherman. 

 Unless seized with great care, they bite most severely. 

 It is even said that men have occasionally been per- 

 manently maimed by them. A Conger, six feet in 

 length, was caught in the Wash, at Yarmouth, in April, 

 1808 : but not without a severe contest with the man 

 who had seized it. The animal is stated to have risen 

 half erect, and to have actually knocked the fisherman 

 down before he could secure it. This Conger weighed 

 only about sixty pounds : but some of the largest exceed 

 even a hundredweight. 



