The Apodes, or Eel-like Fishes 143 
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 hundreds 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.’’ “At other times large 
eels may be seen on their way down-stream, although natu- 
rally they are not as conspicuous then as are the hosts of the 
young on their way up-stream. Nevertheless it is now a well- 
assured fact that the eels are catadromous, that is, that the 
fic. 101.—Common Eel, Anguilla chrisypa Rafinesque. Holyoke, Mass. 
old descend the watercourses to the salt water to spawn, and 
the young, at least of the female sex, ascend them to enjoy life 
in the fresh water.”’ 
Reproduction of the Eel.—Dr. Gill (‘‘ Riverside Natural His- 
tory,”’ p. 103) gives the following account of the reproduction 
of Anguilla: 
“The generation of the eel was long involved in great 
mystery, and the knowledge thereof is one of the recent acqui- 
sitions of scientific investigation. So late, indeed, as 1880 it 
was declared that ‘their mode of propagation is still unknown.’ 
In want of positive knowledge the rein has been given to loose 
hypothesis and conjecture. It has been variously asserted that 
eels were generated from slime, from dew, and from the skins 
of old eels or of snakes. The statement that they come from 
horse-hairs is familiar to many country boys, and the origin 
of this belief is due simply to the fact that there are certain 
aquatic worms, known under the generic name Gordzus, which 
are elongated and apparently smooth like the eel, and which 
