My attention has been called to a paragraph in a Worcester paper
giving an account of a (so-called) discovery by Mr. Boccius, that
Eels are propagated by spawn, like other fish, and that they are
not brought forth alive, as had hitherto been supposed. This may
be true, but before I can give an unqualified belief to the
assertion, I should like to have a few questions answered by Mr.
Boccius. Who saw the fish from which those thousands of eggs were
extracted at the time this dissection was made? Are the parties
who saw these eggs quite certain that the fish was an Eel and not
a Lamprey? Who saw the eggs from which Mr. Boccius produced living
Eels? Who beside Mr. Boccius ever saw Eel-fry in a pond which had
no communication with a river? Will Mr. Allees and Mr. Reed (the
gentlemen to whom the spawn was exhibited) say whether the ovary
which was shown to them was pretty much of the same form as that
of the Lamprey? and if not, in what respect did it differ?
I am induced to ask these questions, both because by inference
they show my own opinions on the subject, and because I am led on
undoubted authority to believe that Mr. Boccius is inclined to
claim at _least_ all that belongs to him; and also because I have
my doubts about the scientific attainments of Mr. Boccius in the
Natural History of Fishes.
It is difficult to prove a negative. My never having seen the
strange things above mentioned certainly does not prove that other
people with better eyes and more discrimination have likewise
failed to do so; but I can't help doubting, and I publish my
doubts in the hope that the subject may be further inquired into.
A true naturalist ought only to wish for the truth, without
reference to his own preconceived notions; but so far as my
examinations have gone, I have failed altogether to detect spawn
in the fringes which I have fancied were the ovaria of the fish,
or elsewhere, and I don't believe that Eels are bred in fresh
water at all. I see the fry ascending from the sea in May and June
by thousands and millions, but I never met with one of these in a
pond having no communication with a river. I have little doubt
that I shall be pronounced in error touching this matter, except
perhaps by those who know how perseveringly these little Eels make
their way up every stream, ditch, and driblet of water into which
they can gain access. They penetrate into the water-pipes and
pumps; they climb up the perpendicular faces of the rocks and
weirs which obstruct the course of the rivers, even when they are
only moist--adhering to the moss and stones like snails.
The downward migration of Eels is observed here from July to the
middle of September, but in the Manchester market I find them up
to this time (the end of November), and am informed that they are
caught at the foot of Windermere in their downward migration.
Would a dissection of the Conger at various seasons throw any
light on the propagation of Eels? One would think that in such
large fish the ovaria would be much more easily distinguished than
in smaller specimens. (November, 1850.)
_The above elicited the following reply:_--
T. G. denies the possibility of Eels breeding in fresh water. We
have a pond here covering three or four acres which swarms with
Eels of all sizes. I have caught them from the size of my little
finger up to the weight of five pounds. The supply of water is
from nothing else than land springs--there being no communication
between the pond and any river. When much rain occurs I am obliged
to put up a sluice-board, in order to prevent the banks from
overflowing. I have taken from one to two hundredweight at a time
from a box which the water flows through at the bottom of the
sluice-board. The large quantity that has been taken out of this
pond leaves no doubt that they breed there to a great extent, but
whether they are propagated by spawn or brought forth alive I am
unable to say.--G. H., _Finedon Hall_.
_Reply to the foregoing._
Your correspondent G. H. says T. G. denies the possibility of Eels
breeding in fresh water. This is rather too strong. I don't deny
the _possibility_ of Eels being bred in fresh water, I only deny
the _probability_. The expression I used was that I did not
believe they were bred in fresh water at all, and I distinctly
stated that my not having seen these things (Eel spawn, &c.), did
not prove that other people had not done so. But to the question.
G. H. says that he has caught them of all sizes, from the
thickness of his little finger to five pounds weight. No doubt he
may have done so, but did he catch them of the thickness of a
crow's quill, and three inches long? because that is the size at
which they usually ascend rivers. He says his pond does not
communicate with any river. Is there no escape of water from it? I
mean, is the evaporation from its surface equal to the supply of
water? If not, where does the surplus go to? Does it not directly
or indirectly flow into a river or the sea? I am the more inclined
to think that this is the case, because G. H. says he caught a
hundredweight at a time from a box which the water flows through
at the bottom of the sluice-board. This is exceedingly like what
is done here and elsewhere from July to the end of November, when
the Eels are on their downward migration. Will G. H. be kind
enough to say whether he does not catch his about the same time?
will he also say whether the Eels he catches are not Silver Eels?
and will he also state whether he does not catch them principally
after heavy rains have increased the flow of water out of the
pond? If he answers these questions in the affirmative, I shall
still think I am right, and request him to keep a sharp look-out
after rains in May and June, when I think he would probably see
the grigs passing through his box into the pond. If, on the other
hand, there is no escape of water from the pond at any time, I
must admit that I am wrong, but at present I don't know how to
reconcile the impounding the water so completely with what he says
about the flow of the water through the box at the bottom of the
sill. Where does the water flow to, and for what is this sill?
_G. H. replied as follows._
T. G. asks if I have caught Eels of the size of a crow's quill. I
have caught them of the size of a tobacco-pipe, and from three to
four inches in length.
Our surplus water flows indirectly into the river Nene from our
sluice. It supplies some stews where we have been in the habit of
keeping reserve fish, and passing over several waterfalls, it
enters into a ditch which is about three-quarters of a mile long,
and then reaches the river I have just named.
The greatest take of Eels I have had was on the 23rd of December,
but the time of the year is of little consequence with us,
provided the water is thick and muddy and the weather rather warm,
which, of course, only occurs during very heavy rains. If I were
to draw all the water out of the pond when in a clear state, I
should not catch a fish. The variety is the Silver Eel. Our pond
is upwards of fifty miles from the sea; therefore how is it that
those little Eels had got no larger during their long journey,
interrupted as it is by numerous and almost insurmountable
obstacles, before they could reach the little ditch, three-
quarters of a mile long, that would conduct them to our pond? And,
last of all, after this long and tedious journey, within a hundred
yards of their destination they would have to climb four
waterfalls and a perpendicular sluice-board. It appears to me they
should have grown much larger than a common tobacco-pipe and
longer than three or four inches in that time, but I will leave
this point for T. G. to explain.--G. H., _Finedon Hall_.
_Reply to the foregoing._
Many thanks to G. H. for his second letter on this subject. It
appears to me that we think very much alike about Eels.
He says his pond is fifty miles from the sea; "therefore, how is
it that these little Eels get no larger in their long and tedious
journey? interrupted as it is by numerous and almost insurmountable
obstacles, before they could reach the little ditch, three-quarters
of a mile long, which would conduct them to our pond? and last of
all, after this long and tedious journey, within a hundred yards
of their destination, they would have to climb four waterfalls and
a perpendicular sluice-board. It appears to me they should have
grown much larger than a common tobacco-pipe during that time; but
I will leave that point to T. G. to explain."
This is so fairly put, that I will tell what I have seen, hoping
that this will be a sufficient explanation.
In June, 1850, I chanced to go down to the bank of the Ribble, and
there I saw a column of small Eels steadily making their way up
the stream. I should suppose there might be fifty in every lineal
yard, for they kept pretty close to the bank, apparently because
they met with less resistance from the stream, and without
pretending to accuracy I supposed they travelled at the rate of a
mile an hour. This was about five o'clock in the afternoon, and I
went to look for them about nine in the evening--they were still
going in one unbroken column. How long they had been going when I
first saw them, and how long they continued to go after my second
visit, I don't know, but many thousands--perhaps millions--must
have passed that day. At this rate (of a mile an hour) they would
have required little more than two days to reach G. H.'s pond,
fifty miles from the sea; but he says they had to pass over three
or four waterfalls and a perpendicular sluice-board. If these
waterfalls and the sluice-board were covered with moss, they would
climb them as readily as a cat does a ladder. I have seen them in
swarms at a perpendicular weir here, winding their way through the
damp moss with which the stones are covered; but this was not all:
where there was no moss, the little things seemed to have the
power of adhering to the perpendicular face of the stones, like so
many snails. I must not omit to remark, that although they seemed
to choose the margin of the stream for the sake of easier
travelling, yet they took care to keep in the stream, as I had a
nice opportunity of observing.
At the point where I first saw them, the tail goit of a water-
wheel had its junction with the river, but being Sunday there was
no current there--not a single Eel took its course up the goit,
although the water was deeper there than where they went. The
water being low and perfectly clear, I could trace their course
both above and below the place where I stood without any
difficulty.
If we allowed that they travelled a mile in the hour, and that the
obstructions of the waterfalls and sluice-board took as long to
get over as all the rest of the journey, they would be able to
reach G. H.'s pond in four days from the sea; and from what I have
seen of their ability to surmount such obstructions, I am quite
convinced that they would travel that distance in the time. But
say they were a week--they would not grow much in that time,
particularly if they had been travelling without food the whole of
the distance, and that they must have done so, is proved to my
mind by their keeping in column; for if they had dispersed to seek
for food, by what contrivance were they marshalled into line
again, to enable them to proceed? Now the place I saw them is
forty miles from the sea, although not that distance from salt-
water. T. says it is no proof that Eels are bred in fresh water
because they may be found in ponds having no connection with a
river--the proof required is _ab ovo_. If we wait for this proof I
fear we will have to wait for some time, for I fancy that no one
but Mr. Boccius ever saw the ova of Eels, and he will not
condescend to enlighten us on the subject. At the same time I
admit that finding them there is no proof that they were bred
there, inasmuch as I have myself stocked such ponds for my
friends, and what I have done may be done by others.
T. says further there is also room for inquiry into another
curious subject--do Eels return to fresh water after having gone
to the sea for spawning? In reply to this, I can only say, that no
trace of such a migration is ever seen here, and I think if it
existed at all, I should have observed it, for the following
reasons.
The Ribble here supplies a large mill, the water-wheels of which
are 150 horse-power; therefore, when they are at work in the
daytime, the whole force of the river is often passing through the
mill-lead (goit) and the bed of the river between the weir, and
the tail goit in such times is left dry, except in a few pools. If
there was a shoal of Eels between these two points it would have
been seen at one time or another, and this has never happened, so
far as I know. It may be said that they migrate singly, but they
don't do so in their first migration, and, so far as I am aware,
it is not the habit of any animal to do so. Herrings, Pilchards,
Smelts, Flounders, Sturgeon, Bisons, Antelopes, Woodcocks,
Swallows, Fieldfares, Locusts, and even Butterflies congregate
together previous to migration.
NOTE.--The last paragraph requires some modification, as I have
since proved that Eels migrate singly when going to the sea, as I
have had occasion to know in a hundred cases when watching my Eel-
trap, where every Eel may be seen as it descends into the trap.
_On the same subject._
I [Jeremiah Garnett, brother of the writer, and editor of the
"Manchester Guardian,"] having noticed the communications on this
subject which have recently appeared in your columns, am desirous
of mentioning a fact which appears to me to throw some light upon
the localities in which Eels are bred, though it leaves the
question of the mode of generation precisely where it stood
before.
Like your correspondent T. G., I have many times seen columns of
small Eels ascending the Ribble and other rivers in the months of
May and June, at considerable distances from the sea, but only on
one occasion have I seen them under circumstances which evidently
brought them near the place of their nativity.
I happened to be attending the Lancaster Spring Assizes in the
month of March in the year 1826, and learning that there was a
remarkably high tide in the estuary of the Lune, I walked down to
the riverside about the time of high water, and found that the
tide had covered the grass in many places; and as it began to ebb,
I observed something moving in every small hollow which had been
overflowed, and in which a little water had been left behind. On
examination I found that the moving bodies were exceedingly
diminutive Eels, rather less, to the best of my recollection, than
three-quarters of an inch long, and almost transparent, but
exhibiting in every respect the true form of the mature Eel. They
had evidently followed the water to its extreme verge, where it
could not have been more than an inch deep, and that they must
have been very numerous was clear from the large numbers which
were left behind and had perished--for that they did perish I
found on the following day, when they were lying dead on the grass
by hundreds. Some of your correspondents who reside in localities
favourable for making observations on this subject may be induced
to pay attention to it; the exact appearance may be ascertained,
with probably other facts calculated to throw light on the obscure
question of their generation.
* * * * *
ON THE POSSIBILITY OF INTRODUCING SALMON INTO NEW ZEALAND AND
AUSTRALIA.
_October_, 1859.
The colonists of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand appear to
wish for the introduction of Salmon and Trout into the rivers of
these colonies, and one of them, Tasmania, is said to have offered
the reward of L500 for the first pair of live Salmon which reaches
that colony. If this is true it is a liberal offer, and one that
is likely to induce various persons, both in England and France,
to make the attempt.
I should be sorry to say anything to check so laudable an
endeavour, but I greatly fear that Van Diemen's Land (to say
nothing of the Australian colonies) is too near the tropics to
offer a reasonable chance of success. I think it is practicable to
take these fish there (or at least fertilized ova), but I don't
think they would live and thrive in the rivers of that colony.
Never having been there, I can, of course, only reason from
European experience, but the best inquiries I can make lead me to
suppose that there are no Salmon in France (south of Brittany),
Spain, or any of the countries washed by the Mediterranean Sea;
and in America (although I confess I am not so well informed on
that country) I have never heard of Salmon being seen to the south
of the tributaries of the St. Lawrence. Supposing this to be so, I
think that we may fairly infer that if Salmon are not found south
of a certain latitude in Europe and America, it must be that the
climate of these southern countries is not congenial to the habits
of this fish. I believe, however, that the Trout lives and thrives
much further south than the Salmon; for instance, it is found in
the Pyrenees and in the lakes of Northern Italy (Lady M. W.
Montagu). It is also found in Northern Turkey, and probably
Albania also (Spencer); and therefore I think it is quite probable
that it might live in Tasmania--that is, if the streams are never
dried up and the rivers reduced to a number of water-holes, which
appears to be the case in Australia. Should this be the case in
Tasmania also, I doubt whether even Trout would thrive, for here
in Lancashire I have known the Trout to die in great numbers from
the heat, when, owing to the water-wheels of the mill diverting
the river from its usual channel, there was no stream, but merely
a series of detached pools or water-holes; and the Grayling seem
to be more incommoded by heat than the Trout, and it was one of
the diversions of my boyhood to wait until the wheels of my
father's mill were stopped in the hot weather, and then go up the
covered wheel-races in search of the Grayling that had gone there
to get out of the sunshine. I used to catch them there in great
numbers. However, this has nothing to do with the matter, except
to suggest that although Grayling are very desirable fish to
introduce into the colonies, I fear they would be too impatient of
heat to thrive there. But my object in addressing you is to ask
whether it is true that the legislature of Tasmania has offered
the prize of L500 for the first pair of live Salmon taken there?
Secondly, whether they offer a prize for the introduction of
Salmon fry; and if so, what is the amount offered?
Thirdly, whether they offer a prize for the introduction of
fertilized ova of Salmon or Trout, and what is the amount?
I ask these questions because I happen to know a good deal on such
matters, and I have been applied to this day by James Birch, the
head water-bailiff of our river (Ribble), to obtain some
information for him on the subject, as he seems seriously bent on
making the experiment, provided the reward be an adequate one;
for, to be successful, it would involve the necessity of his
making the voyage himself, and it would be a cruel thing to induce
him to do so, and in the end to find that he was entitled to no
reward.
I'll say this for him, that if he tries he will succeed, if
success be possible; but his pecuniary resources are too limited
for him to undertake such a risk.
I have reason to believe that he has been applied to by Ramsbottom
to go to Tasmania, but this he declines to do under Ramsbottom's
auspices. As he (R.) professes to be in communication with the
authorities of Tasmania (or at all events with influential persons
there) let him make the first attempt, and if he succeed, there
will be no necessity to apply to me on the subject; but if he
should fail--as I think he will--why, then the persons interested
in the matter may, if they wish to try again, let me know their
wishes and the amount of remuneration they mean to give.
I should certainly suggest that both Salmon and Salmon Trout (as
well as the common Trout) should be included in their list of
desiderata, and although for reasons previously given I have no
great hopes of success with the two former, I think it quite
probable that the common Trout would succeed better. Of course I
know nothing of the fish already in the rivers of Tasmania; for
aught I know there may be fish in all those rivers quite as
voracious and destructive as the Pike are here. If this is the
case, the chances of success would be materially lessened, as
Trout and Salmon fry are rare in all rivers stocked with Pike.
However, those who are making the attempt ought to know what they
are about, and will, no doubt, have considered such obstacles, if
there are any such in the way. Will you, therefore, be kind enough
to answer the questions I have asked above, at your earliest
convenience, and if your replies offer any inducement to Birch to
make the attempt, I have no doubt that he will be quite ready to
do so.
For various reasons he can only start from here in the autumn or
winter, and he should, if he reaches Tasmania with either live
fish or fertilized ova, have someone to render him prompt and
cordial assistance to enable him to deposit the fish or ova, or
fish and ova, in suitable places for spawning and hatching; and
therefore if this letter be replied to, the answer ought to say to
whom Birch should apply on his arrival in Tasmania.
It may be asked, who is the man who obtrudes his opinions on the
colony unasked, and what can be his motives? As I am not aware
that I know a single person in Tasmania, I cannot refer to anyone
there; but I happen to know one or two gentlemen in Melbourne, and
if you will take the trouble to refer there to Messrs. W. and B.
Hick, or to W. Bailey, the corn merchant, they will be able to
satisfy all inquiries.
If it be asked what I know of the habits of fish, and Salmon in
particular, I beg to refer the inquirers to Loudon's "Magazine of
Natural History" for 1834 (if there is a copy of that work in the
colony), and they will there find two papers (signed "T.G.,"
Clitheroe) which will show that I then knew all that has since
been proved by the elaborate experiments made at Perth by
Ramsbottom, and moreover I taught Ramsbottom himself the art of
propagating fish artificially.
I want no compensation: the honour of being the first man who
succeeded in introducing these valuable fish into the colonies
would be a sufficient reward to me. But with Birch the case is
different: he is a working man, and L500 would be a fortune to
him. On the other hand, he could not afford to come to Hobart Town
from England at his own expense, as he has not the means.
Would the colony, if other attempts failed, be willing to pay
Birch's passage out and home if he failed also, and would he
receive the L500 if he succeeded?
By success I mean that he would either bring live fish or ova that
would hatch into live fish. Either of these objects being
accomplished, he ought, in my opinion, to receive the reward; for
although he would attempt both, he would probably fail in the
former.
Should he attempt this under my advice, I should not only send
Salmon and Salmon Trout and their ova, but the common brown Trout
and its ova also, for the reason previously given in this letter;
and although I am by no means sanguine of success, on account of
the temperature, the experiment is too important to be abandoned
for a mere theoretical objection which may be erroneous.
I think New Zealand offers far greater chances of success. It is
not only further removed from the tropics, but, if I am rightly
informed, the streams are more abundant and constant than those of
Australia and Tasmania--in fact, I believe it is as well watered
as this country; and if the authorities there are as much alive to
the importance of introducing these fish into their rivers, I
would undertake to do this with much greater confidence of
ultimate success than I should have if I undertook to introduce
them into Tasmania or the sister colonies.
Some time since (it may be eighteen months or two years ago) there
was a very intelligent correspondent of the "Field" newspaper,
whose _nom de plume_ was the Maori one, "Wetariki no te wai
Herekeke," or a similar one; and I having written something in the
"Field" on this subject, the New Zealander asked for my address,
which, for some private reason of his own, the Editor declined to
give until so long a time had elapsed that Wetariki Herekeke had
returned to the colony--this I learnt from an indirect source--
otherwise I should have tried to induce him to undertake the
experiment of introducing all the various species of the genus
Salmo which are to be found in our rivers.
If the colonists of New Zealand wish to make the attempt, I shall
be most happy to render them all the assistance in my power, and I
know no one so qualified as Birch to undertake the management of
such an experiment; for he is exceedingly intelligent, has a
perfect knowledge of the habits of both Trout and Salmon, and
thoroughly understands the feeding of fish, both in their natural
haunts and artificially, and would consequently be able to select
suitable localities for conducting such an experiment to a
successful issue.
NOTE.--No reply was given to this by the authorities of Tasmania,
but a similar communication, addressed to the Governor of New
Zealand, elicited a very polite reply from his secretary, in which
he said that there were no funds available for such a purpose, but
that the subject would be brought before the legislature on their
assembling, and would no doubt meet with their favourable
consideration; but the Maori troubles broke out immediately after,
and I heard no more about it.
* * * * *
CLITHEROE, _October 14th_, 1859.