358 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



of late years. I suppose in ancient times they were more abundant, 

 and considered quite as valuable as at present, for in documents as old 

 as ' Domesday ' we read of mills having been rented by payment of 

 Eels caught in the river ; and, if we may draw an inference from the 

 amount chargeable, the higher reaches of the stream were more pro- 

 ductive than parts nearer the sea, as, from an extract quoted in Wise's 

 ' New Forest,' we find that Charford (Cerdeford) mill, between Salis- 

 bury and Fordiugbridge, was rented at 15s. and 1250 Eels, but the 

 mill at Ibsley (Tibeslei), a few miles farther down the river, had 

 a rental of only 10s. and 700 Eels. — G. B. Corbin (Ringwood). 



