CHAP. I.] MIGRATION OF THE EEL. 19 



ground, salmon are on their way from the sea up to the river- 

 heads to fulfil the grand instinct of their nature namely, re- 

 production. The periodical migrations of the eel, on which 

 instinct has been founded the great fishing industry of Co- 

 macchio, on the Adriatic, described in another portion of this 

 volume, can be observed in all parts of the globe, and they 

 take place, according to the climate, at different periods from 

 February to May ; the fish frequenting such canals or rivers 

 as have communication with the sea. The myriads of young- 

 eels which ascend are almost beyond belief ; they are in 

 numbers sufficient for the population of all the waters of the 

 globe that is, if there were protective laws to shield them 

 from destruction, or reservoirs in which they might be pre- 

 served to be used for food - as required. The eel, indeed, is 

 quite as prolific as the generality of sea fish. As a corro- 

 boration of the prolificness of the animal, it may be stated 

 that eels have been noted but that was some years ago to 

 pass up the river Thames from the sea at the extraordinary 

 rate of eighteen hundred per minute ! This montee was called 

 eel-fair. 



It is clear from certain facts in the history of this peculiar 

 animal that, like all other fish, it can suit its life and growth 

 to whatever circumstances it may be placed in, and seems to be 

 quite able to multiply and replenish its species in rivers and 

 lakes as well as in the sea. In Scotland eels are very seldom 

 eaten, a strong prejudice existing in that country against the 

 fish on account of its serpentine shape ; but for all that the 

 eel is a nutritious and palatable fish, and is highly susceptible 

 of the arts of the cook. At one time the eel was thought to 

 be viviparous, but naturalists now know better, having found 

 out that eels produce their young in the same way as most 

 other fish do. 



It would be interesting, and profitable as well, to know 

 as much of any one of our sea fish as we now know of the 



