— 208 — 



ning of July was 59 mm. long. A haul with the eel-seine in the innermost part of the 

 lagoon in Hafnarfjördr, where the bottom consisted of mixed mud and sand with zostera, 

 gave the other specimen which was 68 mm. long." Further a transparent elver was 

 taken pelagically by the "Thor" at Iceland in April 1904 (see later p. 217). 



Belgium: The following information has been sent me by the Belgian zoologist Dr. 

 D. Damas: "Mr. le professeur Ed. van Beneden me rapporte avoir vu pendant un séjour 

 à Ostende, le port envahi par de jeunes anguilles d'une taille en dessous de 10 ctm. 

 Dans les bassins d'une huitrière il put en récolter des quantités considérables. Les 

 anguilles étaient complètement transparentes et permettaient un examen anatomique com- 

 plet. L'époque de ce phénomène était sauf erreur de souvenir avril-mai." "Dans un 

 ouvrage sur les poissons de Belgique par le Dr. E. Gens je lis que la montée se récolte 

 et se transporte avec la plus grande facilité. A certains jours de printemps (avril-mai) 

 on peut, avec une simple épuisette ramasser des millions de jeunes anguilles dans les 

 écluses et les forses aboutissant au bas Escaut." According to Dr. E. Gens' account the 

 young eels appear in the Scheide at Antwerp in the middle of April (14— 15th). The 

 elvers are not taken for food here as on the French coast, but transplantation takes 

 place. 



Holland. It is reported by P. P. C. Hoek (Mededeel. over Visscherij, 1894, p. 99) 

 that in the spring of 1891 a fisherman of Gorkum collected large quantities of "montée" 

 from the Merwede (the connection between the Maas and Waal) and carried them over 

 to his own waters. These were quite small fishes about the size of darning needles, 

 and they occurred in such large quantities in ihe river that they formed a dark streak on 

 the water. Further, Dr. Hoek has kindly informed me, that the "montée" regularly ascend 

 the River Vecht in Overijssel in spring, and they have also been observed at Zwolle, not 

 far from the place where the Vecht and Zwarte Water join. More exact details as to 

 the months when the ascent takes place in Holland are unfortunately lacking ; it is only 

 said "in spring". 



Germany. The ascent of the elvers has been observed many times on the Elbe. 

 Thus V. SiEBOLD (Die Siisswasserfische von Mitteleuropa, 1863, p. 356) states that Dr. 

 Ehlers of Hannover observed the phenomenon at Drennhausen one morning at the end 

 of June or beginning of July. The elvers moved along like a dark streak ca. 1 food 

 broad, and there were so many present that one could not draw a bucketful of water 

 from the river without taking many of them. The average size of these was quite 3—4 

 inches, in thickness like a goose's quill and they were all even the smallest quite dark in 

 colour. The run continued unbrokenly of the same size the whole day and even the 

 folloving but was over by the third day. On being asked the people of the place said 

 that they had never before seen such a phenomenon. 



It appears obvious however that these were not the youngest elvers but an older 

 year's group. 



Hermes' gives later observations on similar immigrations of the young eels in the 

 Elbe, where the run was l — 2 meters broad and i meter deep and where it lasted 

 24 — 30 hours, the young eels passing up with considerable speed. When the current is 

 strong, the run is narrower and keeps closer to the banks where the stream is not so strong. 



■ O.Hermes, Circiilnre des Deutschen Kisclierei-Vereins, iS8o, S. 23. 



