THE EEL FAMILY. 393 



certainly remain all the winter), and possibly also in some 

 rivers ; but it appears also clear that in the great majority 

 of rivers the Eels spawn in .the brackish water, as before 

 stated. 



The most absurd ideas have prevailed at different times, 

 amongst both ancients and moderns, as to the mode in 

 which Eels are generated. Oppian believed that they were 

 born of the slime with which their scales are covered; 

 Aristotle that they sprang from the mud ; Pliny that they 

 were produced from particles separated from their bodies 

 by friction against rocks and stones, and which, descending 

 to the bed of the river, vivified and became a host of Eelets ; 

 and other authors, again, that they proceeded from the 

 carcases of animals. Helmont assured his contemporaries 

 that they were the birth of May-dew (as versified in the 

 lines elsewhere quoted), and might be obtained by the 

 following recipe : " Cut up two turfs covered with May- 

 dew, and lay one upon the other, the grassy sides inwards, 

 and thus expose them to the heat of the sun; in a few 

 hours there will spring from them an infinite quantity of 

 Eels." 



Another never-failing plan was to sow the river with 

 chopped horsehair. In fact, the fallacies on this subject 

 were endless, and it is difficult to award the palm of pre- 

 eminence in absurdity. A far less unreasonable opinion was 

 held until very late years, namely that Eels were viviparous. 

 There seems now, however, to be no doubt that they are 

 oviparous, although their habits, and circumstances con- 



s5 



