EFT 
1:^6 living Eels of different growths, all included in 
their proper membranes : fome of them move but 
jflowlyj others coil and uncoil themfelves pretty 
brifkly; while the moft mature are feen to make 
ftrenuous efforts towards obtaining an enlargement 
from their enveloping membranes, and at length 
fucceeding, to fwim away like their parent animal. 
The tube extended each way, on dividing the body, 
is properly the uterus of the creature, which in the 
larger Eels is full of dark fpots, being tlie embryo 
Eels; and thefe fpots are again obfervable in the 
young ones as foon as they are produced. 
EEL-POUT. The Englifh name of the mu- 
ftella fluviatilis, a fifh of the gadus kind, in the Ar- 
tedian fyftem; and diftinguifhed from the others 
by the name of the bearded gadus with two fins 
on- the back and jaws of equal lengths. 
The Eel-Pout, which is caught in the Trent, 
and many other rivers of England, is in fome 
places called the burbot, and efbecmed very deli- 
cate food. When full-grown, it is commonly 
about fourteen inches long, flender, and fomewhat 
of the fhape of the common eel; but too fliort, in 
proportion to it's thicknefs, to be truly lb. Like 
the eel alfo, it is very foft and flippery, and covered 
either with a flimy matter or extremely minute 
fcalcs. The colour is diat of the tench; the head 
is large and flat; the noftrils are fmall and round; 
and the jaws are befet widi very fmall teeth, rough 
as a file to the touch; befides which, there is a Se- 
micircular rugged fpace in the palate. There are 
two fins on the back; and tliere is one on the belly 
which reaches from the anus to the tail. A fmall 
beard rifes from the extremity of the lower j aw ; 
tliere are two other beards between the noftrils and 
the end of the fnout ; and the gills are feven in num- 
ber. 
There is another variety of Eel -Pouts, which 
Linnaeus defcribes as afpecies of blennii : they are 
viviparous, bringing forth two or three, hundred 
young at a time a little after the depth of winter; 
and are very numerous in the River Efk, in York- 
fhire; but their flefh is not much efleemed. See 
Blenny, Viviparous. : 
EFT. An animal very common in England; 
called by fome the newt, and the fwift; and, by 
others, the common lizard. The Eft has an oval 
obtufe fnout ; it's back is of a rufty iron-colour ; and 
it's feet, which have each five toes, are armed with 
very fliarp fmall claws : that toe v/hich correfponds 
with the fore-finger in the human race is the longeft 
of all ; and that which anfwers to the thumb is 
placed lower. 
Great Britain affords feveral fpecies of Efts; 
namely, the common land Eft, with a black fpotted 
belly; the fnake-like Eft, which frequents heaths; 
the fmall brown land Eft; the yellow fcaly land 
Eft; and the brown and black fpotted water Eft: 
the two laft of which are mentioned by Plot in his 
Hiftory of Staffordfhire. 
The land Eft, or, as it is frequcndy called by 
naturalifts, the land falamander, has fomething very 
remarkable in it's exterior coat : it's fkin often ap- 
pears dry, like that of the lizard ; but it alfo fre- 
quendy feems as if covered with a fine fliining li- 
quid varnifh, the change from one ftate to the other 
being ufually performed in an inflant; and it fome- 
times, on being barely touched, becomes entirely 
wet. There is alfo under the fl-cin of this animal 
a fort of milky liquor, which, on the body's being 
preifed, is fpouted out to a confiderable diflance: 
the paflages for the eicapc of this fluid are a vaft 
number of pores or holcsj many of which are per- 
EFT 
ceptible to the naked eye; and probably the fidl- 
mentioned liquor, which covers the ll<in in the 
manner of a varnifli, may be the fame with this,, 
it's wliite colour not being diftinguifhable when 
thinly fpread over the creature's body. This 
milky fubftance bears a ftrong refemblance to the 
juice which the tithymals, and many other fuccu- 
lent plants, afford when either cut or broken; it's 
tafle is intolerably acrid and ftyptic; and though 
the tongue receives no injury from touching it, the 
fenfation is neverthelefs fo violent, that the perfon 
affeded is very apt to dread the confequences. 
An opinion generally prevails, that this animal 
is of a poifonous nature; and the fabulous falaman- 
der of the ancients fcems to be of the fame genus, 
if not the fame animal. Maupertuis, in order to 
convince mankind of the truth of th(*fe remarkable 
particulars, caufed a large number of Efts to be 
collecfled; which the country people, who had 
caught them near the bottoms of old walls, handled 
with as much caution as if they had been vipers. 
From this, as well as other experiments, it appears 
very evident, that the ftories of the Eft's being a 
poifonous animal are as vague and groundlefs as 
thofe of it's being able to exifl in the fire. Some 
remarkable circumftances, however, the above gen- 
tleman obferved in his diffeftion of thefe animals ; 
namely, that in feveral of the females there were at 
the fame time clufters of eggs and young ones in 
an animated ftate; that thefe eggs formed bunches 
refembling thofe of the ovaries of birds; that the 
young were contained in two tubes, the coats of 
which were perfectly tranfparent ; and that in one' 
female only he counted fifty-four young, all living 
and vigorous. 
The water Eft furnifhes the curious with excel- 
lent opportunities of obferving the circulation of 
the blood by means of the folar microfcope. By; 
the help of this inftrument,, the vefTels are_perceived 
to be beautifully delineated on the fl<:in; and the' 
tide of blood in the large ones to be equal to that 
of the ftream of water which, in hydroftatical ex- 
periments, is ejedled out of a veifel by condenfed 
air. In either of thefe cafes, no appearance of 
drops of feparate globules can be difcerned, but 
the whole forms one continuous body. In the 
leffer veffels, thefe little globes are obferved to pafs- 
along very fwiftly, but evidently to feparate from 
each other. 
It is very remarkable, that in the tail of this ani- 
mal there feems to be a greater number of velTels 
than are immediately neceffary for the circulation 
of the blood ; for, when thus examined, there will 
often appear two parallel veffels, in one of v/hich 
only the circulation is performed, and this fuccef- 
fively in one and the other of the veffels, the tide 
often leaving the one wholly empty which had juft 
before been full and circulating in the other. 
In the ftomachs of a certain fpecies of water Efts 
found in Brazil, Mexico, and Cuba, particular 
fubftances called Eft-ftones, fuppofed to be en- 
dowed with extraordinary viitues, like the bezoars 
in other animals, are faid to be lodged: but though 
thefe ftones are celebrated by Ximenes, and other 
authors who have been on the fpot, and have had 
every opportunity of fearching into the reality of 
their origin, many ftill doubt v/hether any fuch fub- 
ftances were ever aftually found in thefe animals. 
Redi fuppofes them to have been once the teeth, 
or fome other parts, of fifties dug out of the earth; 
and he obfcrves that, having tried fome which 
bore that name, he found no vifible effect in any 
of them. 
3 Z EGG. 
