322 THE FAMILY OF EELS. 
We may observe, as bearing on the anatomical characters 
common to each species of Eel, that, as in the development 
of embryo fishes the ventral fins are the last to make their 
appearance, their being altogether wanting in this genus has 
been thought to imply that the race is of an inferior kind 
in the scale of nature, as compared with several others; and 
something similar might be judged from the deficient devel- 
opment of the scales, the absence of which has been supposed 
in these fish. Their skin is known to be thick and tough, 
so that when stripped from the body, as is cruelly done 
when the fish is prepared for cooking, in some countries it 
is in common use as a bag or purse — a fact referred to by 
Shakespeare; and we are informed that in ancient times it 
was employed as a whip to enforce discipline in schools. On 
the fish its thickness and slimy texture are of service in 
preventing the escape of the moisture within the body which 
is of importance to the life of the animal when exposed to 
the air; but the scales which are embedded in it are not 
easily discerned, and therefore have been supposed to be 
altogether deficient, thus offering a striking contrast to fishes 
which on that account have been supposed more perfectly 
organized. Thus, taking as an example the family of Herrings, 
the scales in them are so far protruded that only a small 
portion of each remains attached to the skin, and that portion 
is a film of the slightest texture. In other fishes, as the Sole, 
it is only a small portion of the scale that is protruded, 
while in Eels all the scale is kept within the skin, where it 
lies embedded beneath the outer layer, or scarf-skin, with the 
edge of each not overlapping the next, but lying side by side. 
In the Conger the skin is altogether deficient of scales, but 
to obviate the conclusion that these apparent deficiencies of 
development are marks of a low condition of these creatures 
in the scale of nature, the far more important organizations of 
the brain and nervous system, and even of the muscles, are 
displayed in a higher degree than in a large proportion of 
other fishes; and in consequence the faculties of intelligence 
are in a corresponding condition of perfection. Thus the 
brain is of considerable length with its lobes well marked; 
and the nerves of special sense, whicn are those of the ear, 
taste, and smell, are large and highly sensitive; so that few 
