THE EEL FAMILY 



197 



ascertained that the males are the variety formerly described as 

 the broad-nosed eel, having a broad head and snout. But a 

 more certain distinction is that the dorsal fin commences farther 

 back than in the female, the distance between the commence- 

 ment of the dorsal and of the ventral being less than the 

 length of the head. Male eels are always smaller than the 

 female, the largest recorded being i foot 71 inches long. They 

 remain more in the neighbourhood of the sea than the females, 

 being found mostly in the brackish water of river mouths, and 

 rarely far above the reach of the tides. 



The female eels form the supposed variety called the sharp- 

 nosed eel, the head being narrower and the distance between 

 the commencements of the dorsal and ventral as great as the 

 length of the head or greater. These are found in all rivers 

 as well as in isolated ponds, which they reach by travelling over 

 land. Females have been recorded up to 3 feet 3 inches in 

 length, or even more. 



The females migrate down the rivers in October and Novem- 

 ber, and it is at this time that some of the most productive 

 fisheries are carried on, large wicker-work traps being placed in 

 the river with their mouths directed up stream. A Danish ob- 

 server has recently published a paper showing that the fishermen 

 and dealers distinguish between yellow eels and silver eels, and 

 that the former are better nourished than the latter, while in 

 these the generative organs are more developed. He concludes 

 that the change in appearance accompanies the approach of the 

 breeding process. 



Another difference in the silver eels is the considerably 

 greater size of the eyes, and this agrees with the enlargement 

 of the eyes which I have myself observed in ripe male conger. 



There is no distinct evidence that eels ever return after their 

 migration to the sea, and although ripe specimens have never 

 been obtained, nor the eggs discovered, it is most probable that 

 the eggs are, shed and develop in the sea, and that the parents 

 die after spawning. 



It has long been observed that early in the year, from 

 February to May, young eels ascend rivers. Buckland has 

 described how they pass in great multitudes in a procession 

 about 1 8 inches wide, close to the banks of the river in the 

 Parrett. They are dipped out with a hand-net, salted, and 



