124 FISHING GOSSIP. 
most part marl, silt, or sand. If a few nice bits of 
bog break the uniformity of the shore, just to keep 
him warm and comfortable during the long winter 
nights, it is all so much the better. I regret that 
when I saw him last the camera had not been used 
for taking subaqueous portraits, it would be so much 
more agreeable to present the reader with a carte 
likeness than a verbal description. Photography 
alone, indeed, could do justice to his imposing volume 
and fine proportions. In its absence, however, it 
must suffice to say that his back is of the dark olive 
which distinguishes the whole of the race; but that 
the sides shade off through a pleasant azure grey into 
a pure white on his abdominal regions. Popular 
taste, for once just, and taking the hint from these 
colours, has agreed to give him the name of the 
“silver eel.” I need scarcely say his nose bears no 
resemblance to a duck’s bill, a feature which charac- 
terises a different variety of the species. On the 
contrary his physiognomy is prepossessing, and 
wholly free from the sinister expression of the snig. 
His size is generally greater than that of the river 
kind, growing sometimes to 8 and 9 lbs. But 
these weights are exceptional, and not often at- 
tained. From 3 to 5 lbs. would give a more correct 
approximation of his general weight. For his supe~ 
rior size and beauty he is doubtless indebted to the 
localities in which he is found. There no dearth 
