322 THE FAMILY OF EELS. « 



We may observe, as bearing on tbe anatomical characters 

 common to each species of Eel, that, as in the development 

 of embryo fishes the ventral fins are the last to make their 

 appearance, their being altogether wanting in this genus has 

 been thought to imply that the race is of an inferior kind 

 in the scale of nature, as compared with several others; and 

 something similar might be judged from the deficient devel- 

 opment of the scales, the absence of which has been supposed 

 in these fish. Their skin is known to be thick and tough, 

 so that when stripped from the body, as is cruelly done 

 when the fish is prepared for cooking, in some countries it 

 is in common use as a bag or purse — a fact referred to by 

 Shakespeare; and we are informed that in ancient times it 

 was employed as a whip to enforce discipline in schools. On 

 the fish its thickness and slimy texture are of service in 

 preventing the escape of the moisture within the body which 

 is of importance to the life of the animal when exposed to 

 the air; but the scales which are embedded in it are not 

 easily discerned, and therefore have been supposed to be 

 altogether deficient, thus offering a striking contrast to fishes 

 which on that account have been supposed more perfectly 

 organized. Thus, taking as an example the family of Herrings, 

 the scales in them are so far protruded that only a small 

 portion of each remains attached to the skin, and that portion 

 is a film of the slightest texture. In other fishes, as the Sole, 

 it is only a small portion of the scale that is protruded, 

 while in Eels all the scale is kept within the skin, where it 

 lies embedded beneath the outer layer, or scarf-skin, with the 

 edge of each not overlapping the next, but lying side by side. 

 In the Conger the skin is altogether deficient of scales, but 

 to obviate the conclusion that these apparent deficiencies of 

 development are marks of a low condition of these creatures 

 in the scale of nature, the far more important organizations of 

 the brain and nervous system, and even of the muscles, are 

 displayed in a higher degree than in a large proportion of 

 other fishes; and in consequence the faculties of intelligence 

 are in a corresponding condition of perfection. Thus the 

 brain is of considerable length with its lobes well marked; 

 and the nerves of special sense, which are those of the ear, 

 taste, and smell, are large and highly sensitive; so that few 



