JUNE. TERRIER SEARCHING FOR EELS. 241 



nothing but actual horsehair turned into living 

 things by being immersed for a long time in water 

 of a certain quality. All water does not produce 

 them alike. To the naked eye both extremities 

 are quite the same in appearance. 



While fishing in the river one day at the begin- 

 ning of June, my attention was attracted by a 

 terrier I had with me, who was busily employed in 

 turning up the stones near the water's edge, evi- 

 dently in search of some sort of food. On examin- 

 ing into his proceedings I found that under most of 

 the stones were a number of very small eels : where 

 the ground was quite dry the little fish were dead, 

 and these the dog ate ; where there was still any 

 moisture left under the stone they were alive, and 

 wriggled away rapidly towards the stream, seeming 

 to know instinctively which way to go for safety. 

 Trout have undoubtedly the same instinct ; and 

 when they drop off the hook by chance, they always 

 wriggle towards the water, and never away from it. 

 I saw a trout one day who had been left by the 

 receding of the river in a shallow pool. When the 

 water in his narrow place of refuge had got so low 

 as scarcely to cover him he worked his way out of it, 

 and I saw him go over the still wet stones straight 

 to the river, which was about a yard from the pool. 

 It is difficult, indeed almost impossible, to become 



VOL. I. R 



