THE TRUE EELS. 47 



Eels run down to the sea at spawning time, there deposit- 

 ing their eggs, which are exceedingly minute. 



Nothing at present is known in regard to the spawning 

 of the Australian Eels ; but there is absolutely no reason 

 to think that they should differ to any marked degree, from 

 such closely-allied species as the Common Eel of Europe 

 (Anguilla vulgaris} or the Common Eel of America 

 (Anguilla chrysypa). Jordan and Evermann's remarks in 

 regard to the latter will therefore be worth repeating, as 

 they may be the means of more attention being bestowed 

 upon our own Eels. They say: "The Common Eel spawns 

 in salt water, usually off the mouths of rivers, or mud- 

 banks, to which they go in great numbers at the spawning 

 time, which is in the fall. On these mudbanks the eggs are 

 laid, fertilization takes place and the young eels develop 

 within two or three months after hatching. At the begin- 

 ning of the second spring, these young find their way to 

 the mouths of the rivers, which they ascend in incredible 

 numbers.* In these fresh-water streams and lakes they re- 

 main until of adult size, when they return to the sea for 

 spawning purposes. This seaward migration takes place in 

 the fall, at which time large numbers are caught in traps. 

 During this migration, the Eels, like the Salmon and the 

 Shad, do not take any food. Having once reached the sea, 

 they do not remain close to shore, but go out a distance 

 to deeper water, where the development of the reproductive 

 organs takes place very rapidly. This development is extra- 

 ordinarily rapid, when the immature state, in which the 

 migrating eels are found, is considered; they probably be- 

 come sexually mature within five or six weeks after reaching 

 the sea. The spawning then takes place, after which both 

 the old males and females die, never returning to fresh- 

 water the second time. . . . This is the reason that adult 

 Eels are never seen migrating up stream. 



"The down-stream movement occurs usually at night, 

 commencing soon after sunset, is strongest from midnight 

 to 2 o'clock a.m.. and ceases an hour or more before 

 sunrise." 



* These young eels are known in British waters as " Elvers " anc 

 ;ir ascent of the streams in these large numters is called an "eel-fare." 



