SWIl\ŒMING ANIMALS
85
their eggs or their very tiny young.
Izaak Walton in his
Compleat Aglæf says:
“
Some say that they breed, as
worms do of mud ; as rats and mice, and many other living
creatures are bred in Egypt, by the sun’s heat when it
shines upon the overowing of the river Nilus; or out of
the putrefaction of the earth, and divers other ways . '.
.
”
’
“
and
say, that as pearls are made of. glutinous
dewdrops, which are condensed by the sun’s heat in those -
countries, so eels are bred of a particular dew, falling in the
months of May or june on the banks of some particular
ponds or rivers
.
.
which in'a few days are, by the sun’s
heat, turned into eels.”
,
But just as we know that pearls are not made from dew_
drops, so are we now certain that eels do not spring from
mud, or putrefaction, or drops of deW.
year
1922 a great Danish oceanographei‘, Dr. ]. Schmidt, found
the true spawning place of the eel and cleared up the
mystery once and for all.
He disclosed the amazing fact
that when the eels in our rivers become mature they set
off on one of the longest journeys as yet known to be under_
'
taken by any sh…
_
‘
"
'
When the common fresh—water eel of our rivers has
_
'
reached a length of about a foot—, it changes its*appearance
and puts on what is known as its “
Spawning livery.”
_
Instead of its usual yellow colour it becomes quite silvery
_in appearance and hencæat this stage is known as the
“
silver eel.”
In this condition the eels work their way
down to the months of therivers.
In the late summer and
autumn this migration takes place and the eels push on
_
out of the estuaries and into the open sea.
Then starts
'
the long, long journey out into the deep water and so into
the Atlantic Ocean._
the speed at which the silver eels
go on their journey _we know little.
Once into the deep
.
water they become lost to our observation.
In
Baltic
.
85
their eggs or their very tiny young.
Izaak Walton in his
Compleat Aglæf says:
“
Some say that they breed, as
worms do of mud ; as rats and mice, and many other living
creatures are bred in Egypt, by the sun’s heat when it
shines upon the overowing of the river Nilus; or out of
the putrefaction of the earth, and divers other ways . '.
.
”
’
“
and
say, that as pearls are made of. glutinous
dewdrops, which are condensed by the sun’s heat in those -
countries, so eels are bred of a particular dew, falling in the
months of May or june on the banks of some particular
ponds or rivers
.
.
which in'a few days are, by the sun’s
heat, turned into eels.”
,
But just as we know that pearls are not made from dew_
drops, so are we now certain that eels do not spring from
mud, or putrefaction, or drops of deW.
year
1922 a great Danish oceanographei‘, Dr. ]. Schmidt, found
the true spawning place of the eel and cleared up the
mystery once and for all.
He disclosed the amazing fact
that when the eels in our rivers become mature they set
off on one of the longest journeys as yet known to be under_
'
taken by any sh…
_
‘
"
'
When the common fresh—water eel of our rivers has
_
'
reached a length of about a foot—, it changes its*appearance
and puts on what is known as its “
Spawning livery.”
_
Instead of its usual yellow colour it becomes quite silvery
_in appearance and hencæat this stage is known as the
“
silver eel.”
In this condition the eels work their way
down to the months of therivers.
In the late summer and
autumn this migration takes place and the eels push on
_
out of the estuaries and into the open sea.
Then starts
'
the long, long journey out into the deep water and so into
the Atlantic Ocean._
the speed at which the silver eels
go on their journey _we know little.
Once into the deep
.
water they become lost to our observation.
In
Baltic
.