* TENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 113 
the procession of fish lasted no water could be taken out of the 
river which was not full of the little fish. The length of the young 
eels was, on an average, from 3 to 4 inches; the thickness of the 
body was about equal to that of a goose-quill. By themselves 
might here and there be seen swimming eels of greater size, but 
none of them were probably more than 8 inches in length. All 
of them, even the smallest, were dark colored. This wonderful 
procession of fishes continued unbroken and of the same density 
throughout the whole of the day on which it was first observed, 
and continued also upon the following day. On the morning 
of the third day, however, not one of the young eels was to be 
seem. 
Similar observations have been made at Wittenberg, on the 
Elbe. Kuppfer observed great quantities of young eels, of 
about 3 centimeters in length, in the brackish water of the Eider, 
at Freiderickstadt; so also did Von Stemann. 
“Every year,’ writes the latter, “from April to the end of 
June, there appear great masses of young eels, which are pre- 
sent in large schools toward the Upper Eider, seeking in every 
way to pass each other. In April the first eels show themselves 
generally singly; cold weather has evidently kept them back up 
to this time; since this year, until to-day, no ascent whatever has 
taken place, and now the approach of the great schools is begin- 
ing. Where the current is feeble, the procession is broad; but 
where the eels encounter a strong current—near a mill—it 
becomes small, and presses close to the shore, in order to over- 
come the currents. The little animals swim eagerly and rapidly 
along near the banks until they find a place over which they 
decide to climb. Here they lie in great heaps, and appear to 
await the rising of the tide, which makes their ascent easier. 
The tide having risen, the whole mass begins to separate without 
delay; eel after eel climbs up on the steep wall of rock, deter- 
mined to reach the little pools, at the height of 15 or 20 inches, 
into which some of the water from the Upper Eider has found 
its way. Into these holes the little animals creep, and have yet 
to travel a distance of 40 or 50 feet under the roadway before 
they can reach the Upper Eider. Another detachment betakes 
itself to the sluice-ways, and clings to the cracks in the wood; 
