Their snake-like aspect and other reptile attributes (observes Professor
Wilson, in a work recently published, entitled “The Rod and the Gun”), no
doubt tend to form and perpetuate the prejudice which many otherwise
humane-minded men cherish towards these insidious fishes. They move on
land with great facility, and with a motion resembling that of serpents.
They have even been seen to leave fresh-water lakes during the night in
considerable numbers, apparently for the purpose of preying on slugs and
snails among the dewy herbage. They abound in many continental rivers, and
are caught in immense numbers in those which empty themselves into the
Baltic, where they form a considerable article of trade. It is stated that
2000 have been caught at a sweep in Jutland, and 60,000 have been taken in
the Garonne by one net in a single day. The habits of these fishes in
relation to breeding, migration, &c., are still but obscurely known. “That
eels migrate towards brackish water,” observes Mr Jesse, in his Gleanings
in Natural History, “in order to deposit their ova, I have but little
doubt, for the following reasons: From the month of November until the end
of January, provided the frost is not very serious, eels migrate towards
the sea. The Thames fishermen are so aware of this fact, that they
invariably set their pots or baskets with their mouths up stream during
those months, while later in spring and summer they are set down stream.
The best time, however, for taking eels, is during their passage towards
the sea. The eel-traps, also, which are set in three different streams near
Hampton Court (the contents of which at different times I have had
opportunities of examining), have invariably been supplied with eels
sufficiently large to be breeders, during the months I have mentioned.
This migratory disposition is not shown by small eels; and it may
therefore be assumed that they remain nearly stationary till they are old
enough to have spawn. I have also ascertained that eels are taken in
greater or lesser numbers during the months of November or December, all
the way down the river to the brackish water. From thence the young eels
migrate, as soon as they are sufficiently large and strong to encounter
the several currents of the river, and make their way to the different
contributary streams. I have also been able to trace the procession of
young eels, or, as it is here called, the _eel-fair_, from the
neighbourhood of Blackfriars’ Bridge, as far up the river as Chertsey,
although they probably make their way as far, or farther than Oxford. So
strong, indeed, is their migratory disposition, that it is well known few
things will prevent their progress, as even at the locks at Teddington and
Hampton the young eels have been seen to ascend the large posts of the
flood-gates, in order to make their way, when the gates have been shut
longer than usual. Those which die stick to the posts; others, which get
a little higher, meet with the same fate, until at last a sufficient layer
of them is formed to enable the rest to overcome the difficulty of the
passage. A curious instance of the means which young eels will have
recourse to, in order to perform their migrations, is annually proved in
the neighbourhood of Bristol. Near that city there is a large pond,
immediately adjoining which is a stream; on the bank between these two
waters a large tree grows, the branches of which hang into the pond. By
means of these branches the young eels ascend into the tree, and from
thence let themselves drop into the stream below, thus migrating to far
distant waters, where they increase in size and become useful and
beneficial to man. A friend of mine, who was a casual witness of this
circumstance, informed me that the tree appeared to be quite alive with
these little animals. The rapid and unsteady motion of the boughs did not
appear to impede their progress.”