992 



EEL. 



events, an amber-coloured tinge, from the great quan- 

 tity of rich loam in a state of very minute division, 

 v.!iicn they hold in solution. The substances upon 

 which eels feed acquire a very remarkable diH'erence 

 of character, from difference of water and its deposits ; 

 and the worms which are brought in by the streams 

 on pastures composed chiefly of sand mixed with 

 peat earth, are so pale in the colour, so hard and 

 unpalatable, that even the hungriest trout in better 

 places spurns them as unworthy of his palate. How 

 much there may be in this, we do not know, but cer- 

 tainly eels are held in small estimation in the north, 

 and even discounting' their serpent form, they are 

 regarded as far from wholesome. In some places, 

 indeed, they rate at what is usually considered "cat's 

 price," that is, they are worth nothing but the skin ; 

 but in proportion as the flesh of the animal is despised, 

 it is probable that the skin rises in value. The bare- 

 footed cow-boys of the Scotch hills may run with any 

 velocity they choose across the most stony pastures 

 without breaking or injuring a single toe, if each ankle 

 is defended by a circular amulet of eel-skin ; and if 

 even in her tender years a girl goes to the severe 

 labour of the harvest field, her feeble arm never expe- 

 riences the very painful sickle sprain if she has it 

 defended by a bracelet of the serpent-looking iish. 

 Nay, in the case of any of these contingencies having 

 already happened for want of this invincible skin, its 

 curative power is so great that it will not only take 

 away the rief of the hurt instanter, but effectually 

 cure it in briefer space, and with far more certainty, 

 than the whole fraternity of body curers, with the 

 entire materia mcdica to boot. These superstitions 

 point to some interest about the fish, which is, no 

 doubt, in part owing to the obscurity of its manners ; 

 and had we not so many proofs that prejudice bewil- 

 ders and leads astray in proportion to the depth of 

 the impression which it makes, we might be tempted 

 to suppose that the attention which the eel commands 

 would long ere the present day have led to a know- 

 ledge of its economy and manners. 



That the eels in their annual migrations " descend 

 upon the heat," or that they seek water of a higher 

 temperature than that from which they retire, is not 

 only probable, but certain, though the ultimate pur- 

 pose which this migration answers in their economy 

 is physiological, not physical. In all the movements 

 in animals, indeed, whatever may be the ultimate pur- 

 pose for which they move, the primary cause, as 

 affecting themselves, is physical ; and it cannot be 

 otherwise: for to suppose that they are capable of 

 looking forward to the physiological result, would be 

 to suppose them endowed with forethought plan, and, 

 consequently, with the faculty of reasoning upon 

 cau*e and effect. As regards the animal, the movement, 

 whether to a greater or less distance, goes not beyond 

 the fact, which we observe ; and the rinding out of the 

 physical purpose which this movement answers, is the 

 business of man, the observer, and not of the animal 

 observed. 



We know that, in consequence of a slight compene- 

 traiion, or lessening of the x total bulk taking place, 

 where the fresh water of a river blends with the salt 

 water of the sea, there is constantly a small portion 

 of heat given out in the brackish water which the 

 mixture forms, and because of this giving out of heat 

 the brackish water is warmer than either the fresh or 

 the salt. This fact tells not only in the collection of 

 fishes of various kinds to this part of the waters, in 



order to bring their roe^ and mitts to maturity, but 

 also in the superior vigour of all vegetables on the 

 banks, along that portion of the tidal estuary in which 

 this brackish water plays backward and forward, at 

 least to some extent, with the ebb and flow of the tide. 

 There is another reason which not only brings fishes, 

 but, in the winter season, the aquatic birds to those 

 places of the rivers. It is between the river and the 

 sea that all the light and loamy, and consequently 

 rich matters which the rivers bring down, are depo- 

 sited in the channel ; for it is only the particles of 

 washed sand which have sufficient firmness and weight 

 for being carried out to sea, even to form a bar in the 

 salt water along the river's mouth. Now the quantity 

 of small animals, worms, mollnsca, small Crustacea, 

 insects, and others which are produced in those rich 

 deposits, and even brought down to them by the fishes, 

 is very great, and forms an abundance of food, both 

 for the fry of fishes, and for the aquatic birds. But 

 though this is somewhat different from the mere fact 

 of the greater heat of the water at such places, it 

 co-operates in producing the general result. 



It is not for the mere purpose of depositing their 

 spawn that fishes resort to this portion of the waters, 

 but rather for the purpose of bringing it to maturity, 

 so that it may be fit for being deposited. In this we 

 have a means of judging of some very important dif- 

 ferences in the habits of fish ; and there is, perhaps, 

 none more worthy of attention, at least in the British 

 islands, than salmon and eels. The salmon is a fish 

 of the free waters, seldom lying at the bottom, even 

 for the purpose of repose, and it swims with greater 

 velocity than almost any other river fish, though the 

 strength of its exertion soon exhausts it. The eel, on 

 the other hand, is a bottom fish, rarely if ever corning 

 to the surface. It is comparatively slow in its motions, 

 but capable of very long continuance ; and, indeed, 

 in all things it is a fi.*h of very great endurance. 

 The salmon spawns in the latter part of the year, 

 before the frosts set in, and while the inland waters 

 in the brooks and shallows, having been acted on by 

 the sun of the whole season, are comparatively warm ; 

 therefore the salmon ascends the estuaries during the 

 time of the growth of the spawn, and that is deposited 

 as far in the interior as the fish can reach. The eel, 

 on the other hand, spawns in summer, earlier or later, 

 according to the latitude, and the character of the 

 river in whose estuary the operation takes place, being 

 in May in the rivers of the south of England, but not 

 earlier than June in the more northerly parts of the 

 country. These facts have been ascertained by actual 

 observation of a number of eels of both sexes, in the 

 progress of the spawn to maturity, in its fully matured 

 state, when in the act of shedding, and when imme- 

 diately shed, in the last of which cases, eels follow the 

 general law of all fishes, and are quite exhausted and 

 unfit for food. In what way the spawn is deposited 

 has not been ascertained ; but from the habit which 

 the animals have of burying themselves in the mud, 

 it is probable that they bury it to such a depth in the 

 ooze of the shallows, as that it is not disturbed by the 

 agitation of the waters. It is known, however, to be 

 very abundant in quantity, and, indeed, there is, per- 

 haps, no fresh water fish so prolific as the eel ; and 

 for this reason, it might be worth while to attend to 

 the artificial rearing of eels more than has hitherto 

 been done. It is partly with a view to the breeding 

 of those fishes for economical purposes, that the 

 ascertaining of the mode in which they breed is a 



