EELS. 
275 
Eels^ though buried in the mud, have been known 
to perish ; and, crawling from their lurking holes 
SHARP-NOSED EEL. 
in the agonies of death, have been washed down 
the stream to the tideway, and thrown upon the 
beach.” 
Much obscurity has rested upon the breeding 
of the Eel ; but it is now ascertained that they 
are oviparous like most other fishes, and that the 
spawn is deposited in spring, either in lakes and 
ponds, and the higher parts of rivers, or at the 
mouths of the latter, where the salt water min- 
gles with the fresh. In the earlier summer 
months, thousands of little Eels are seen making 
their way up the streams, for the most part about 
three inches long. In the autumn there is 
