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[ 484 J 



CHAP. IV. 



FISHES. 

 Pisces.-*LiNN. 



SECTION I. 



Eel. 



Muraena anguilla. Linn. 



A he eel is a very singular fish in several things that relate to its 

 natural history, and in some respects borders on the nature of the 

 reptile tribe. 



It is known to quit its element; and, during night, to wander 

 along the meadows, not only for change of habitation, but also for 

 the sake of prey, feeding on the snails it finds in its passage. 



During winter it beds itself deep in the mud, and continues in 

 a state of rest like the serpent kind. It is very impatient of cold, 

 and will eagerly take shelter in a whisp of straw, flung into a 

 pond in severe weather, which has sometimes been practised as a 

 method of taking them. Albertus goes so far as to say, that he 

 has known eels to shelter in a hay-rick, yet all perish through 

 excess of cold. 



It has been observed, that in the river Nyne there is a variety 

 of small eel, with a lesser head and narrower mouth than the 

 common kind ; that it is found in clusters in the bottom of the 

 river, and is called the bed.eel ; these are sometimes roused up by 

 violent floods, and are never found at that time with meat in their 

 stomachs. This bears such an analogy "with the clustering of blind, 

 worms, in their quiescent state, that we cannot but consider it as 

 a further proof of a partial agreement in the nature of the two 

 genera. 



The ancients adopted a most wild opinion about the generation 

 of these fish, believing them to be either created from the mud, or 



