[Three Hundred Animals Contents]
IS of the nature of harmless serpents; it lives in fresh water rivers, lakes, and ponds. It is a very voracious fish, feeding on worms, the young fry of fish, and even carrion and putrid flesh. The eyes are placed near the end of the nose, the teeth are small and sharp, the under jaw longer than the upper; the fins, chiefly the pectoral ones, rounded at their end. This fish is very tenacious of life, and lives long out of water. During the night it frequently quits its native element to wander in the adjacent meadows for the purpose of feeding on snails and other insects. They even emigrate from their usual ditch or pond, and seek overland for a more comfortable situation. They are viviparous.
The common eel often weighs upwards of twenty pounds; it is found every where, except in the Danube, where it is seldom seen. The flesh of the Eel is tender, soft, and nourishing, and contains many oily and balsamic parts; yet it does not agree with all stomachs, and is often found hard of digestion.
