166 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 
to the fact that the eel feeds and grows actively 
in the summer months only, and the zones are 
annual rings formed during the summer, 
whilst the narrow interspaces represent the 
growth of the scale during the colder months.” 
After a varying time, usually four to six 
years in the males, and seven to eight in the 
females, the yellow eels begin to change to 
“silver eels.” Their eyes grow larger, their 
pectoral fins longer, and they become silvery- 
white on the under-side of the body. This is 
their breeding-dress, and they are putting it 
on in preparation for the long journey back 
to the sea. 
They have practically ceased to feed by this 
time, and they make the journey down the 
rivers in vast numbers, just as they came up. 
But this time they travel by night, and then 
only when it is quite dark; bright moonlight, 
or a flash of artificial light, will send them into 
hiding at once. During this journey they are 
caught in great numbers in traps and nets of all 
kinds, for at this stage they are much valued 
as food, though in Scotland, for instance, 
there is a good deal of prejudice against them. 
Both the last chapter and the first in the 
story of the eel’s life remain obscure. No one 
