1830 Fishes. 



ful organ with all the eels, and, in fact, with all the fish that burrow 

 in the sand or mud. The large eels rarely ascend the streams beyond 

 the reach of sea-water ; their most favourite haunts are about the 

 crevices of quays, amidst large stones, and in the mud. The eels are 

 oviparous. I have never been successful in obtaining an eel just 

 ready to shed its spawn ; but if the fat substance on each side be ex- 

 amined under a microscope, the small granular ova may be observed 

 in some cases. Last summer I took a quantity of mud from a 

 spot much frequented by eels, and carefully examined it to see if 

 there were any in it, and, after testing several specimens without suc- 

 cess; I was at last gratified by observing the eels, small and trans- 

 parent, lying on the surface almost motionless. They rapidly grew, 

 and in ten days acquired strength and size to swim about. And af- 

 ter examining a great many congers, I have had the good fortune to 

 see three specimens, in which the roe were as fully developed as ever 

 I saw them in a cod, and just ready for shedding, and yet the young 

 were not visible. The development of the ova appears to be at first 

 very slow, and much influenced by changes of temperature, and 

 hence they are enveloped in large quantities of fat. Finally, however, 

 the growth seems to be very rapid and the shedding quick, or how could 

 it happen that so few perfect roe are seen even by the fishermen ? 



Broad-nosed Eel, A. latirostris. Occasionally found at Hayle. 



Snig Eel, A. mediorostris. Not uncommon. 



Conger, Conger vulgaris. Everywhere abundant ; but they prefer 

 deep water with a rough and rocky bottom, and sandy patches sur- 

 rounded by high and overhanging rocks covered with sea-weed. 

 They feed chiefly by night, and prefer the darkest. They feed on 

 the large Crustacea, pilchard, cuttle, &c, but the cuttle is the favou- 

 rite bait of the fishermen. They retire to crevices and hollows in 

 the rocks, and burrow in the sand ; and in these hiding-places they 

 are sometimes left by the receding tide. When hid among rocks, it is 

 sometimes difficult to move them, from the immense power they 

 possess of grasping with their caudal extremity, in which is a small 

 pulsating cavity, which is no doubt the cause of the power. The 

 quantities taken are immense ; a single boat will sometimes land six- 

 teen hundred weight at a time, and though not held in much estima- 

 tion as an article of diet, yet they always command a good sale at 

 low prices. They are purchased chiefly by the poor, and by the neigh- 

 bouring farmers. They are not so abundant now as formerly, from the 

 trawlers destroying the breeding-grounds. They sometimes attain a 

 very large size : the largest I ever saw weighed 92lt»s., but I have seen 



