138 ANECDOTES OF FISHES 



Pet Eel. One of the inhabitants of the plea- 

 sant village of Darvel had, for a number of years 

 past, kept a pet eel in a well in his garden, which 

 eel is said to have become perfectly tame, answer- 

 ing to the name of Rob Roy, and readily eating 

 morsels from a horn spoon pushed below the sur- 

 face of the water by the children ; some days ago 

 a large frog leaped into the well, but no sooner 

 had he ruffled the surface of the water by his 

 plunge, than the eel darted at him, and suc- 

 ceeded in getting his head and shoulders into his 

 mouth, but the body of the frog proved too much 

 for his gorge, and, as his teeth prevented him 

 from releasing his hold suffocation was the 

 result : both animals were found dead at the 

 bottom of the well. Ayr Observer. 



Dr. Block asserts that eels, in the mouth of 

 the Baltic, are taken in such quantities, that they 

 cannot be used fresh, but are smoked and salted 

 for sale, and conveyed in waggon loads to Sax- 

 ony, Silesia, &c. The general size of the eel 

 is from two to three feet, but they have been 

 known to have reached six feet, and to weigh 

 twenty pounds. 



Eels and carp may be carried a long way when 

 frozen in winter, and they are not dead. 



