388 THE AI^GLER-NATURALIST. 



not know : they have never, so far as I am aware, been 

 observed to accompany the young Eels, or Elvers as they 

 are termed, on their ascent from the sea in March and 

 April. This exodus of the fry has been observed in the 

 Thames, the Severn, the Jed, and many other rivers. 

 Countless thousands of young Eels from 3 to 4 inches in 

 length force their way up wherever a stream of fresh 

 ^vater pours itself into the salt, and like an endless living 

 rope, deviously, but still keeping near the bank, twist and 

 twine along, surmounting all obstacles as instinct leads 

 them in their course towards the higher waters. " I have 

 watched them," says Mr, Couch, " when their passage has 

 been obstructed by a waterfall 20 feet high, and yet, on 

 examining the wet moss over the verge, I have found them 

 tortuously winding their way to the stream above." 



In the Thames and the Severn this migration is called 

 the Eel -fare, from the Saxon term 'fare,^ signifying to 

 travel, as in ' wayfarer,' ' thoroughfare,' and other words 

 similarly compounded. The Eel-fare continues for some 

 days at a time; and as it has been calculated that as 

 many as from 1600 to 1800 fry have passed a given spot in 

 the space of one minute, some estimate of their numbers 

 may be formed. The term ' Elver ' is probably a corruption 

 of Eel-fare. The young of the spring rapidly increase in 

 size, and acquire a greenish-brown colour by May and June. 



The habits of the adult Eel when prevented from making 

 its autumnal migration to a warmer element are thus 

 described ; — 



