632 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



Sea and the Pacific; present in Southern Greenland (?) and Iceland, latitude 65° north; on the 

 entire coast of Norway, from the North Cape, latitude 71°, southward; abundant in the Baltic, 

 and in the rivers of Russia and Germany which are its tributaries, and along the entire western 

 and Mediterranean coasts of Europe, though not present in the Black Sea, in the Danube or any 

 of its other tributaries, or in the Caspian; occurring also off Japan and China and Formosa; also 

 in various islands of the Atlantic, Grenada, Dominica, the Bermudas, Madeira, and the Azores. 



Habits. — The habits of the Eel are very different from those of any other fish, and are as yet 

 but little understood. 



"This, so far as we know," writes Professor Baird, "is the only fish the young of which ascend 

 from the sea to attain maturity, instead of descending from the fresh to the salt water. Its 

 natural history has been a matter of considerable inquiry within a few years, although even now 

 we are far from having that information concerning it that would be desirable, in view of its 

 enormous abundance and its great value as a food-fish. 



"The eggs of the Eel are for the most part laid in the sea, and in the early spring, the period 

 varying with the latitude, the young fish may be seen ascending the rivers in vast numbers, and 

 when arrested by an apparently impassable barrier, natural or artificial, they will leave the water 

 and make their way above the obstruction, in endeavoring to reach the point at which they aim. 

 Here they bury themselves in the mud and feed on any kind of animal substance, the spawn of 

 fish, the roes of shad, small fish, etc. At the end of their sojourn in the ponds or streams they 

 return to the sea, and are then captured in immense numbers in many rivers in what are called 

 fish-baskets. A V-shaped fence is made, with the opening down-stream into the basket, into 

 which the Eels fall, and from which they cannot easily escape. This same device, it may be 

 incidentally stated, captures also great numbers of other fish, such as shad, salmon, and other 

 anadromous fish, to their grievous destruction. 



"As might be expected, however, the Falls of Niagara constitute an impassable barrier to their 

 ascent. The fish is very abundant in Lake Oatario, and until artificially introduced was unknown 

 in Lake Erie. At the present time, in the spring and summer, the visitor who enters under the 

 sheet of waier at the foot of the falls will be astonished at the enormous numbers of young Eels 

 crawling over the slippery rocks and squirming in the seething whirlpools. An estimate of hun- 

 dreds of wagon-loads, as seen in the course of the perilous journey referred to, would hardly be 

 considered excessive by those who have visited the spot at a suitable season of the year. 



"The economical value of the Eel as a food-fish has been well established, and it is now 

 greatly sought after for introduction into the localities where, for some physical or other reason, it 

 is unknown. The advantages, as summed up by a German writer, are, first, that an Eel will live 

 and grow in any water, however warm, and whatever be the general character of the bottom, 

 though it prefers the latter when muddy and boggy ; second, the Eel requires no special food, but 

 devours anything living or dead ; it is an excellent scavenger, feeding upon dead fish, crabs, etc., 

 as well as upon any living prey it can secure; third, but few conditions can interfere with its 

 development, while it grows with very great rapidity, being marketable at the age of three years; 

 fourth, the young, on account of their hardiness, can be transported in a crowded condition, and 

 to any distance, with very little risk of destruction. These considerations are, in the main, well 

 established, and there is no question but that the Eel can be introduced in many waters to 

 advantage, supplementing the earlier inhabitants. It has been planted in the waters of the 

 Upper Lakes and the Mississippi River ; in the latter they have reached an advanced development. 

 It is, however, a very undesirable inmate of rivers in which fish are taken by means of gill-nets, 

 the destruction of shad and herring in the waters of the Susquehanna and others farther south 



