198 SALMONIA. 



ovaria; and Sir E. Home thinks them her- 

 maphrodite, and that the seminal vessels 

 are close to the kidneys; but this circum- 

 stance demands confirmation from new dis- 

 sections, and some chemical researches upon 

 the nature of the fringes and the supposed 

 melt. If viviparous, and the fringes contain 

 the ova, one mother must produce tens of 

 thousands, the ova being remarkably small; 

 and it appears more probable that they are 

 oviparous, and that they deposit their ova 

 in parts of the sea near deep basins, which 

 remain warm in winter. This might be as- 

 certained by experiment, particularly on the 

 coasts of the Mediterranean. I cannot find 

 that they haunt the Arctic ocean, which is 

 probably of too low a temperature to suit 

 their feelings or habits; and the Caspian 

 and the Black Sea are probably without 

 them, from their not being found in the 

 Volga or Danube : these, being shallow seas, 

 are perhaps too cold for them in winter. 

 From the time that small eels begin to 

 migrate (April), it is probable that they are 

 generated in winter; and the pregnant eels 



