4 A BOOK OF THE RUNNING BROOK: 



water of estuaries which some authorities deem 

 necessary to their existence. The same writer 

 asserts that the distinction between " shovel- 

 nosed " and " pointed-nosed " eels is purely 

 " fanciful," and accounts for the difference by 

 saying that " most fish develop a shovel-nose 

 when they are working up stream." If this 

 were the case, an eel would have a shovel nose 

 in the spring and a sharp nose in the autumn. 

 Such a capability of altering his features would 

 be certainly open to envy ; but, unfortunately 

 for this theory, the structure of the two fish is 

 materially different, and the single fact that the 

 shovel or broad-nosed eel has 115 vertebrae, 

 while his sharp-nosed relative possesses only 

 113, is sufficient to prove the fallacy of the idea 

 that the two fish are identical. 



Of fresh-water eels, as apart from their mighty 

 cousin the Conger, there are three distinct kinds 

 the sharp-nosed eel, the broad-nosed or frog- 

 mouthed eel, and the snig. Of these three, the 

 sharp-nosed eel is both the largest fish and the 

 best eating, though some prefer the snig eel as 

 having a superior flavour. The snig, however, 

 in spite of its excellence, has not the same value 



