28 3 The Breeding Habits of the Eel. [January, 
in the spring, in April and May. I caught an eel at Providence, 
six inches long in October. It seems probable from this fact — 
and the statements of others,! that by the last of summer and early 
part of autumn the eel hatched in late autumn or the winter at- 
tains a length of from six inches to a foot in length, and becomes 
from sixteen to twenty-four inches long the second year. It is 
well-known to all who have raised fish, or studied the embryology 
of animals, that individuals of the same brood may be accelerated 
or retarded in growth, so that eels a year old may vary greatly 
in size. 
In conclusion, so far as our observations extend, our common 
American eel descends fresh water streams into the salt water of ; 
harbors and estuaries, while those habitually living in the sea — 
spawn at the mouths of rivers and in shallow harbors in the — 
autumn and early winter, if not through the winter; the sexes 
only differ in color and in the histological structure of the repro- 
ductive glands, and do not breed until at least the second year. — 
The eggs and spermatozoa arè exceedingly minute, the former 
must be laid by millions; the young are two or three inches long 
in the middle or last of the spring, and the eel grows about an inch | 
a month until maturity. It is desirable that these facts and induc- — 
tions should be proved or disproved, and that the entire history — 
of the breeding habits of the eel, hitherto so obscure, should be — 
cleared up. 
Since the preceding lines were written I have read Dr. Syrski’s — 
“lecture on the organs of reproduction and the fecundation of — 
fishes and especially of eels” (1874), translated in the Report of — 
the U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries for 1873-4 and — 
1874-5. The author gives an interesting review of the various — 
and discordant opinions as to the breeding habits of the European — 
ore June Mr. D. G. Colwell procured several thousand young eels and ~ 
ced them in the mill po: ne They were about two inches long at that time. Last 
inches in length, showing that they had oor" about one inch per- month since 
placed in the pond. In about a year from now we may expect good eel fishing in — 4 
the daisies: — Quoted yes Fenton pideasbad: Michigan, in Forest and Stream, 
Nov., 
burrowing ünder 1 the latter when spawning. 
1878. 
_ 2 For example, the small eel above OE to, about six inches in length, col- - 
~ lected early in October, had not increased in size two months later; it has not been 
: ie since = See As pagar the food of eels, Mr. S. A. Simmons, Jr., of Pr ov- 
feed on the eggs of the king crab ORAE ; 
