Aiiirricdii Fish erics Society 121 



sical ;i])])aratiis and have all arrived at the conclusion in ques- 

 tion. ] think we can rest assured that eels have never developed 

 their organs in fresh water, and that they all die after oviposi- 

 tion. 



One more word in proof. Allusion has l)een made by ^Ir. 

 Atkins to the fact tliat eels ascend in numliers up the river. 

 They do ascend in countless myriads, (io to the foot of Niagra 

 at the proper season and you will find them by cartloads, by 

 millions upon millions. Above that there is not one. Xow un- 

 der ordinary circumstances eels can ascend cataracts of consid- 

 erable height, and therefore they may be found far, (piite far 

 from any river in which they have appeared, but when you find 

 them, as has been done, in Lake Erie, it has been by virtue of the 

 fact that they have been transplanted there. They will live 

 there foi- a long while, for they are hardy and tenacious of life, 

 but they will never ])ropagate. 



:Mr. Atkins: I did not intend to say that I had observed 

 that the eggs of the eels eve]- become mature, but only that I 

 saw them in that rudimentary condition, large enough to be 

 distinguished by the microscope, and in immense numl)ers. I 

 suppose all the time that they went down to the sea so they 

 would mature. 



