support than to weaken such an inference. It may be 

 saidnothing is more easy than to say that the young 

 eels which appear in the spring may burst from the 

 ova in January, or perhaps may have been quickened 

 towards the conclusion of the preceding year. They 

 may, or they may not; and we therefore consider 

 that Mr. Yarrell's observations have left the question 

 concerning the generation of eels just where he 

 found it, even if he has been able to distinguish 

 milts from roes ; in ascertaining which, judging from 

 his observations, he seems to have found no diffi- 

 culty, although so eminent a comparative anatomist 

 as Sir Everard Home appears to have been unable 

 to perceive such decisive sexual distinctions, since, 

 after frequent examination, he was of opinion that 

 eels were hermaphrodite. The "eel's nest" is still to 

 be found, and we hope that the next enquirer will 

 prove more successful in his investigations. 



BURBOT. 



The burbot or eel-pout, though of a different 

 genus, is not unlike a thick eel in form. The burbot 

 rarely exceeds two feet in length, and their average 

 weight does not exceed a pound. They are more 

 abundant in the still water of the Foss-dike and 

 With am navigations, in Lincolnshire, than in any 

 other part of the kingdom. They are not unfrequent 

 in Lincoln market, where they are sold at the same 

 price as eels. They are caught with night lines, in 

 the same manner as eels. Some writers on natural 



