THE HAG-FISF1ES. 681 



" Previous to tlio building of the dam over the Housatonic at Birmingham, Lampreys were taken 

 in large c|iiantitiex us far up (In- river as tin- falls in the town of New Milford; now none are MM 

 ahovo (In- dam. Then, standing over the falls on shelving rocks, one could hook them, as they 

 cliing to the rocks with their suckers, by means of a large sharp hook fastened to a long pole, this 

 hook In-ill;,' imbedded in the holes in the sides of their necks. Many people formerly salted barrels 

 of tin-in for their own consumption. Their use at present has much decreased, owing to the dis- 

 turbance in the fisheries caused by the building of the dams. Those now used in the vicinity of 

 I'.ridgcwatcr a iv taken in the Housatonic at Birmingham, and during the months of May and June 

 arc peddled through the country by the people who catch them." 



Mr. X. M. Mnckctt, of Lakeville, Connecticut, states that in that vicinity the annual average 

 catch is about t\v,. thousand fish, the implement of capture used being a pole about six feet in 

 length with a hook in its end. The fisheries are located in Salmon River about two miles from the 

 Connecticut,. just above tide water, and the Lampreys sell in the markets of the adjoining villages 

 at an average price of live dollars a hundred. 



Mr. M. A. Hart, of Rivertou, Connecticut, says that thirty years ago, and before, Lampreys 

 were found in the Farmingron River in the vicinity of Kiverton, but have long ago been exhausted. 

 Quant it ics are sold in the city markets of Southern Connecticut, chiefly obtained in the Connecticut 

 Ki\ er in spring and early summer. They are easily caught with the hands, and fishermen captur- 

 ing them in this way always use mittens. 1 



Mr. C. M. Hunt, of Northville, Connecticut, states that in New Milford large quantities are 

 consumed in May and June which are caught in the Housatonic at Birmingham. Before the dam 

 was built they were caught everywhere in the Housatonic and the small streams which are its 



tributaries. 



i 



203 THE HAG-FISHES MYXINID.E. 



The " Slime Eel," Myxine glutinom, is found on the Atlantic coast north of Cape Cod, and in 

 the deeper water even further south. It occurs also on the coasts of Northern Europe. It is a 

 great annoyance to the fishermen, whose baits it devours, and who entertain for it a superstitions 

 dread. Little is known of its habits, and its importance to man is very slight. Jordan writes: 



"The Hag-fishes (Mi/j-inidas) are represented along the California coast by one species, Poli- 

 ttotrema Stotiti. It is most abundant in Monterey Bay, where it is very destructive to fishes caught 



'The Hartford (Conn.) "Post," in Juno, 1876, contained the following paragraph: 



"CuRlocs HABITS OP LAMPliKY EELS. Two gentlemen from Granby, Connecticut, Messrs. Dewey and Good- 

 rii-h. were in town last week on a visit, and took away with them on their return one hundred and ten Lamprey Eels, 

 which they captured in the creeks hereabout. The Eels were all of good size, sixty-two of them weighing one bun* 

 tired ]K>unds. These Eels are esteemed to be a great delicacy by the people of Granby and neighborhood, and are 

 held to In' worth twelve cents apiece, or they offer to exchange a barrel of pork for a barrel of cured Kels. The 

 method of taking these Eels is quite novel. They are found only in shallow water, with stony or gravelly bottom, 

 and the fisherman goes provided with a large bag of nett ing, the month of the bag being distended with a hoop, and 

 an instrument of iron about eighteen inches long terminating in a hook. 



"The Eels have what are called nests, made by heaping np stones in a circle of about eighteen inches in diameter. 



These KtiincN tln-\ pl:n-i- in tin- | K IN! i inn li\ t MM . niiiL 1 1 1"-; i sin ki r inmu I >- i !n- IMdlMTlBg IfcMDMlTM . '! i.i!l\ , 



ilr.-iu inx r the stones along with them. Inside this circle of stones lie usually from three to five Eels, parallel with 

 one another, their heads all in one direction and each Eel made fast by unction to stone. The bold li-herman ap- 

 proaches them from behind, and, skillfully putting his hook under an Eel, he suddenly brings it up with such force 

 that it penetrates the hide, and brings out the fish, when, after two or three flourishes in the air to get him in the 

 right position, he is deposited in the hug. Each Eel in the nest is in turn made the subject of a similar operation, 

 the creatures often holding on to the stone with such tenacity as to bring it out of the water with them, when the 

 aerial flourish causes it to become detached and to fly to a considerable distance. 



"These Eels, it is said, arc wholly free from bones nave the backbone, which is removed in dressing, and when 

 iwlteil for a few weeks and fried make an article of food second to none in the way of li-h." 



