430 RAMBLES ABOUT HOME. 



not and had not run as a stream from or through this 

 spot ; and though it was submerged during unusually 

 high water, yet it was not possible that those eels had 

 reached here during a freshet, and had remained here 

 ever since, especially as it was more than a year since the 

 place had been under water. There was every indication 

 that these eels had voluntarily left the ditch, some fifty 

 feet distant, and sought out this spring-hole, which, owing 

 to its southern exposure and constant supply of water, 

 was certainly a comfortable spot. But the question 

 arises, Is this a common occurrence ? Furthermore, do 

 eels habitually hibernate, choosing ordinarily the soft, 

 muddy bottoms of our deeper ponds, and the tidal por- 

 tions of our rivers ? I know they are generally supposed 

 to do so, but the frequency with which I have taken 

 them when fishing in deep waters under the ice, has led 

 me to doubt whether the habit is as common as is sup- 

 posed. 



It is fitting that my notes on our common fishes 

 should terminate with the rarest of them all, the gar, 

 which of late years is but rarely seen in the Delaware or 

 its tributaries. Not only are they seldom seen now, but 

 I find no reference to them in the writings of such early 

 travelers as took an interest in the fauna of the country. 



The gar should not be confounded with the bill-fish, 

 which is also called "gar " by many of our fishermen. 



The true gar is found in the river all the year round, 

 and occasionally a big fellow wanders into Crosswicks 

 Creek, near by, and here I have occasionally been fortu- 

 nate enough to see them. 



As to their habits, so far as I am concerned, there is 

 not much to be said. They are much like the pike, re- 

 main much of the time half concealed in the river -weeds, 



