76 ART OF ANGLING. 



This fish is so cunning that it will frequently 

 suck the bait off the hook ; and if any part of 

 the hook is bare, it will not touch the bait at all. 



EEL. 



THE Eel, which in a natural arrangement of 

 the animal world, may be considered as in some 

 degree connecting the fish and serpent tribes ; 

 it is a native of almost all the rivers, lakes and 

 ponds in England ; its general colour is olive- 

 brown on the back, and silvery on the sides be- 

 neath; it is, however, occasionally seen of a 

 very dark colour, with scarce any silvery tinge, 

 and sometimes of a yellow, or greenish cast ; 

 those that inhabit the clearest waters are obser- 

 ved to be the most beautiful. The lower jaw of 

 the Eel extends beyond the upper ; the head is 

 small and pointed ; the eyes are small, round, 

 and covered by a transparent skin united with 

 the common integument of the body ; the open- 

 ing of the mouth is small, and both jaws and 

 tongue are beset with several ranges of small 

 sharp teeth ; the skin is proverbially slippery, 

 being furnished with a large proportion of mu- 

 cus, or slime ; it is also furnished with small 

 deeply-imbedded scales, which are not easily 

 visible in the living animal, but are very con- 

 spicuous in the dried skin. 



