THE EEL. 181 



Capable of climbing over any obstacle. 



translated from Oppian, it appears to have been 

 known to the ancients; 



" The wand'ring eel, 



Oft to the neighbouring beach will silent steal." 



The eel is possessed of the power of climbing 

 over any obstacle ; for by applying their gluti- 

 nous and slimy bodies to the surface of the ob- 

 ject they desire to surmount, they creep up with- 

 out difficulty. Mr. Anderson, in the Philosophical 

 Transactions, says that, in June 1746, while he 

 was viewing the flood-gates belonging to the 

 water-works of Norwich, he observed a great 

 number of eels sliding up them, and up the adja- 

 cent posts, to the height of five or six feet above 

 the surface of the water. They ascended with 

 the utmost facility, though many of the posts 

 were perfectly dry, and quite smooth. They first 

 thrust their heads and about half their bodies out 

 of the water, and held them against the wood- 

 work for some time ; Mr. Anderson imagine still 

 they found the viscidity of their bodies sufficient- 

 ly thick, by exposure to the air, to support their 

 weight. They then began to ascend directly up- 

 wards, and with as much apparent ease as if 

 they had been sliding on level ground : this they 

 continued till they had got into the dam above." 



Anderson, in his production called " The 

 Bee," relates a singular instance of the migra- 

 tion of young eels from one part of a river to 

 another. " Having occasion," says our author, 



