450 TRANS ACTIONS OF THET 



day they partially conceal themselves under stones, stumps and 

 mud, exposiuEf the head only to viewj and in this manner they 

 watch for their prey. They delight particularly in still, rauJdy 

 water ; and notwithstanding naturalists have decided that they 

 are viviparous, and that lumps of little eels have been found in 

 them, the size of a fine sewing needle, I have come to the con- 

 clusion that it is a mistake, and arose from the fact that eels are 

 often infested with small worms, which have been taken for small 

 eels. They are undoubtedly oviparous, and go to brackish water 

 to deposit their ova. I found in the fall my eels all left the pond^ 

 not one remaining to breed in it, and many returned the follow- 

 ing spring of all sizes. I then stocked the pond again, and in the 

 fall placed fine salt in it : the eels then remained;, deposited their 

 ova in the pond, which in due time hatched there, and produced 

 a great quantity of young eels. I am convinced, though I have 

 never seen either spawn or milt in eels, that they have all the 

 necessary parts of generation, as well as other fishj they are very 

 tenacious of life. I have known them to live five days in a grass 

 meadow, and when returned to the water, swim with their usual 

 rapidity. I have placed them one hundred yards from the pond,, 

 and found that they would invariably turn towards the water and 

 make their way to the nearest point, evincing a strong migratory 

 instinct. Eels are supposed to be spread over the world more 

 universally than any other animal except man, but none are seen 

 in situations where they cannot get to salt water. For example, 

 they are not found in Lake Ei-ie, above the falls of Niagara. Eels 

 were never seen above the falls in Paterson, until the canal was' 

 cut ; ever since that period they have been found in immense 

 quantities and of exqiusite quality. They are nothing more nor 

 less than water-serpents, and may by called the connecting link 

 between amphibious and aquatic reptiles. They have been caught 

 in New- York harbor weighing thirteen pounds. As an article of 

 food they are extremely nutritious and rich, but contain a large 

 quantity of oil, and unless eaten with an acid, are apt to occasion 

 derangements of the digestive organs. Eels are covered with a 

 mucous substance, which makes them diflicult to hold, and has 

 led to the notion that they are devoid of scales. This is an error j, 

 as I have discovered them readily with a magnifying glass. 



