44 ORIGIN OF THE SILVER EEL. 



spawning, is given up, the land animal's 

 nature prevails. 



Now, in the reverse order a similar change 

 takes place in the eel-beetle when it begins 

 life, the land animal's nature prevails, and 

 when it ceases to breed, it alters its form to 

 the fish nature. It is evident, however, that 

 the eel in the early stages of its career, even 

 in the water, is to some degree tinged with 

 with the beetle nature, for I have seen them 

 out on the edge of a loch in search of food, 

 but after they are older they never leave the 

 water, and I believe that when they are a 

 long time in the sea, the beetle nature leaves 

 them entirely. 



It appears that age alters some of these 

 amphibious animals in their nature the 

 toad, frog, water-newt, and eel, for instance. 

 To test this opinion by actual observation, I 

 tamed a specimen of the toad family. I 

 will give the reader a short memoir of him, 

 which if it does not instruct, may possibly 

 amuse. 



There were two young toads that fre- 

 quented my garden for two years. They 

 left it in spring, and returned again in a 



