212 



at $atttral $? 



cleanly, feeding indiscriminately upon al 

 kinds of small fish, and decayed anima 



the back-fin commences at some distance 

 beyond the head, and is continued into the 

 tail-fin, which is also united with the vent- 

 fin. The general colour of the Eel is olive- 

 brown on the back, and silvery on the sides 

 and beneath ; the fins are slightly tinged 

 with violet, and sometimes margined with 

 pale red ; it is, however, sometimes seen of 

 a very dark colour, with scarce any silvery 

 tinge, and sometimes yellowish or greenish : 

 those being the most beautiful which in- 

 habit the clearest waters. The skin of the 

 Eel is proverbially slippery, being furnished 

 with a large proportion of mucus : it is 

 also furnished with small deeply-imbedded 

 scales, which are not easily visible in the 

 living animal, but are very conspicuous in 

 the dried skin. Fresh- water eels, inhabiting 

 running streams with gravelly bottoms, are 

 said to be uniformly white upon the belly, 

 and infinitely more delicate than those of 

 muddy waters, which possess a peculiar smell 

 and flavour, by no means agreeable. In the 

 choice of its food the Eel is far from being 

 ,11 



matter : they are, however, a most valuable 

 description of fish : their flesh is excellent 

 as food, being highly nutritious, though 

 sometimes too oily for weak stomachs. They 

 are very prolific, hardy, and very easily pre- 

 served : they inhabit almost all our rivers, 

 lakes, and ponds ; and as they are in great 

 esteem for the table, the consumption in our 

 large cities is very considerable. Few ani- 

 mals are more tenacious of life ; they con- 

 tinue to move for a long time even when de- 

 prived of the head and skin, preserving the 

 muscular irritability for many hours after 

 death. 



The Eel is viviparous, producing its nu- 

 merous young during the decline of summer: 

 these at their first exclusion are very small. 

 Very gross errors on this subject were for- 

 merly indulged in ; but it appears that both 

 eggs and ready-formed young are occa- 

 sionally observed in the same individuals, 

 as is known to be the case also with several 

 other animals. As Mr. Yarrell observes, 

 " during the cold months of the year Eels 

 remain imbedded in mud ; and large quan- 

 tities are frequently taken by eel-spears in 

 the soft soils and harbours and banks of 

 rivers, from which the tide recedes, and leaves 

 the surface exposed for several hours every 

 day. The Eels bury themselves twelve or 

 sixteen inches deep, near the edge of the 

 navigable channel, and generally near some 

 of the many land-drains, the water of which 

 continues to run in its course over the mud 

 into the channel during the whole time the 

 tide is out. In Somersetshire the people 

 know how to find the holes in the banks of 

 rivers in which Eels are laid up, by the hoar- 

 frost not lying over them as it does else- 

 where, and dig them out in heaps. The 

 practice of searching tor Eels in mud in cold 

 weather is not confined to this country." 

 Some marvellous accounts are on record of 

 the migration of Eels from one river to 

 another, over intervening portions of dry 

 land. On this subject the same author thus 

 expresses himself : " There is no doubt that 



Eels occasionally quit the water, and when 

 grass meadows are wet from dew, or other 

 causes, travel during the night over the moist 

 surface in search of frogs or other suitable 

 food, or to change their situation. Some 

 ponds continually produce Eels, though the 

 owners of these ponds are most desirous of 

 keeping the water free from Eels, from a 

 knowledge of their destructive habits to- 

 wards the spawn and fry of other fishes. 

 Other ponds into which Eels have been con- 

 stantly introduced are obnoxious to them 

 from some quality in the water ; and they 

 are known to leave such places during the 

 night, and have been found on their passage 

 to other retreats." The general size of the 

 Eel is from two to three feet, but it is said 

 that it sometimes, though very rarely, attains 

 to the length of six feet, and to the weight 

 of twenty pounds. It is a fish of slow growth, 

 and is supposed to live to a very considerable 

 age ; and is attacked by a great many species 

 of intestinal worms. 



The COXGER EEL (Anguilla conger), in its i 

 general appearance is so nearly allied to the 

 common Eel, that on a cursory view it might 

 at first be considered as the same species : it, 

 however, differs materially from it in size, 

 being sometimes ten feet in length, as thick 

 as a man's thigh, and weighing 100 Ibs. : it 

 is also in general of a darker colour on the 

 upper part, and of a brighter hue beneath : 

 there is also on the sides a straight, white, 



broadish line, seemingly composed of 

 double row of points, which reaches from the 

 head to the tail. The Conger resides gene- 

 rally in the sea, and is only an occasional 

 visitant of fresh waters. In the winter it 

 is supposed to imbed itself under the soft 

 mud, and to lie in an inactive state ; but on 

 the approach of spring it emerges from its j 

 concealment, and visits the mouths of rivers. ; 



CGNOER EEL. (A.NGUIT..LA CONGFR.) 



The able naturalist above quoted informs 

 his readers that " the principal fishery for 

 Congers in this country is on the Cornish 

 coast ; where, according to Mr. Couch, it is 

 not uncommon for a boat with three men 

 to bring on shore from five hundred weight 

 to two tons, the fishing being performed du- 

 ring the night ; for this fish will not readily 

 take a bait by day, and even on moonlight 

 nights it is more shy than when in the 

 dark, except in deep water. The most usual 

 bait with the Cornish fishermen is a pilchard. 

 The Congers that keep among rocks hide 

 themselves in crevices, where they are not 

 ^infrequently left by the retiring tide ; but 

 in situations free from rocks, Congers hide 

 themselves by burrowing in the ground. 

 The flesh is not in much estimation, but 

 meets a ready sale at a low price among the 

 lower classes. The adult fish is most vo- 



