492 . Fishes. 
THE CONGER, OR SEA EEL, (Conger vulgaris,) 
Is very large and thick. Its body is dusky above, and 
silvery below ; the dorsal and anal fins are edged with 
black ; and the lateral line is dotted with white. Its 
flesh is firm, and was much esteemed by the ancients. 
It is still eaten by the poorer classes, especially in sea- 
side towns, but would be considered coarse and tasteless 
by most people in the present day. 
The voracity of the Conger Eel is very great, and it is 
one of the most powerful enemies with which the fisher- 
men of the British islands have to contend. Being usually 
caught by a hook and line, it requires some care to land 
and kill the large ones without danger. We are informed 
that, on such occasions, they have been known to en- 
twine themselves round the legs of a fisherman, and fight 
with the utmost fury. They are almost incredibly 
strong and tenacious of life. When pulled up by the 
line and landed in a boat, they make a loud, hoarse, 
grating sound, almost resembling the angry snarling 
of a dog, which often terrifies the amateur fisherman. 
Unless seized with great care, they bite most severely. 
It is even said that men have occasionally been per- 
manently maimed by them. A Conger, six feet in 
length, was caught in the Wash, at Yarmouth, in April, 
1808 : but not without a severe contest with the man 
who had seized it. The animal is stated to have risen 
half erect, and to have actually knocked the fisherman 
down before he could secure it. This Conger weighed 
only about sixty pounds : but some of the largest exceed 
even a hundredweight. 
