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THE EEL. (Murcena Anguilla.) 
THE Eel resembles a serpent in its form, though no two 
animals can be more different in every other respect. 
Eels are freshwater fish ; but as they are very susceptible 
of cold, those which inhabit rivers go down every autumn 
towards the sea, which is always warmer that a river, and 
return in spring. Those that live in ponds seek the deep 
water for their winter quarters, and sometimes bury them- 
selves in the mud at the bottom. Eels are very tenacious 
of life, and will live for a long time out of water. They 
are even sometimes found on the grass, passing from one 
pond to another, in search, as it is said, of snails, slugs, 
or insects. 
They are voracious feeders, eating frogs, snails, and other 
molluscous animals, worms, the fry of fishes, and the 
larvae of various insects, as well as grass and aquatic 
weeds. It was long thought that Eels produced their 
young alive, but it is now proved that Eels deposit roe 
like the other bony fishes. 
The common Eel often weighs upwards of twenty 
pounds. The flesh is tender, soft, and nourishing; yet it 
does not agree with all stomachs. 
