Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/770

* EEL. 672 EFEENDI. EEL (AS. (el. Ger. Aal) . An elongated, ser- pent shaped fish of the order Apodes (q.v.) -, soft-raj-ed. without ventral fins, and having the Ion" dorsal fin conlluont with the anal around the tip^f the tail. The skin is smooth and exceed- ingly slimv and slippery. It may contain small scales, or "scales may be entirely wanting. The vertebra;, because of the elongated form of the body, are verv numerous. The best-known eels are" the fresh-water eel iAntiiiilla ait;iuill(i) . be- longing to the family Ang^lillida^ and the scale- less confer eel [ Lciitorcplialu.i voiiijcr), of the family l!eptoeephalida The common fresh-water eels, "which have minute scales imbedded in the skill, occur on both sides of the Atlantic and as- cend rivers and live there for the most part, returning to the sea in the autumn, or they may bury themselves in the mud during the winter. Soinetimes they are dug out of the mud of river banks where large numbers of them may be found congregated together. Their activities and mi- grations seem to take place mostly during the night. They frequently make excursions on land in^the moist grass for considerable distances, the purpose of which is not well understood. The reproduction of the eel has e.cited the attention of naturalists since the days of Aris- totle. In 1763 an eel-like fish, taken off the English coast by William IMorris, was named Leptocejihalus. "Xunierous specimens have since been obtained all over the world and the family Le^JtocephalidiP has been erected to contain the various species which have been described. It lias been sucgested that, the Leptocephalida> are larva- of eels.'^and this has been shown by Delage and by Grassi and Calandruccio, as a result of breeding experiments, to be the case, for as they developed they revealed all the characters of con- ger eels. Eventually Grassi showed that one of these Leptocephali '{I.eptoccphalus hrevirostris), characterized by its small size, short body, and absence of pign'ient. is the young or larval stage of the common eel. The discovery of Grassi (189.3) was facilitated by the peculiar whirlpool currents in the Straits of ilessina which occa- sionally bring bottom organisms to the surface, and since the young eels are found at the surface with well-known denizens of the deep sea, it is concluded that the young develop at great depths (1.500 feet). From the dei)ths arc brought also adult male and female eels with ripe eggs and sperm. The entire reproductive history of the eel may now be given as follows: Eels that descend" from tlic fresh water to the sea do so during the months October to .January, and in a sexually immature conditicm. as has long been known." They go to the depths and live there for eight months or more, during which time they become sexually mature. The eggs are fertilized in AugiLst and the following months, and being heavy they fend to keep to the bottom, where, on account of the low temperature, fliey develop slowly. T.arva' from these eggs are found in spring and sunnner. In the autumn and winter, October to February, these young eels pass from the sea into fresh water in great nimibers — im- migrations which have long been known as 'eel- fares'; the fish themselves, now over a year old, are called 'elvers.' Two years then intervene between the descent of the parent eels and the ascent of their progeny. The old fish seem to return to the fresh w.Vter irregularly at various months of the vear. Eels are very voracious and will eat the most varied sort of food. They grow to a length of four to five feet. Although much prejudice against them exists in certain regions, they are important food-fishes, and are inucli eaten both m Europe and America. By many they are thought to be poisonous, a notion which may have its origin in the well-known fact that eel's blood transfused into the system of higher vertebrates is very poisonous: but the same is true of the blood "of other animals, though, pcrha])s to a smaller degree. Anguilla, of which there are sev- eral species, is found in all warm seas except the East Pacific. Eels are trapped by eel-pots and baskets and are extensively speared. See CoN- GEK; Electric Fishes; and Plate of Eels, Congers, a.nu iloR.ws. EETliEE. See III EEL-GRASS. See Tape-Grass. EELLS, Myho.x (1843—). An American Con- grctrational clergvman. born at Walker's Prairie, Wath. He graduated at Pacific University. Ore., in 186(5, and at Hartford Theological Seminary in 1871. After holding a pastinatc at Boise City, Idaho, for two years (1872-74) he became a mis- sionary among "t)ie Indians at Skohoniisli. Wash., and later ])astor of the Congregational Church ( 1876) . In 18!I3 he was appointed superintendent of the ethnological exhibit of Washington at the World's Columbian Exposition. His publications include: Iliston/ of Coiifircgational Association of Washington 'and Oregon (1881); History of Indian Missions on the Pacific Coast (1882); Ten Years at .^koliomish (1S86); Father JCells (1894) ; and monographs on the Twana, Chema- kuni, and Clallum Indians of Washington, on the Indians of Puget Sound, and on hymns in the Chinook language. He prepared for the Smith- sonian Institution vocabularies of the languages of many of the northern tribes of Indians. EELPOTJT (AS. wlepnte. from «•/, eel + jiiite, pout). (1) In England,' and locally in the Korthern United States, the burbot (q.v.). (2) The mutton-fish (q.v.). (3) A catfish (Malap- terur'us). See Catfish. EELWORM. Any of the threadlike nema- tode worms of the family Anguillulid;i>, as the vinegar-eel. Certain species in the East In- dies cause a serious disease of sugarcane called •sereh,' and American species are injurious to cotton, the orange, peach, and other plants, by producing ijalls and -lOot-knot.' Consult Neal, United States Department of Agriculture, Bul- letin 20 (Washington, 1889). EFFECT (OF. effect, Lat. effectus, from ef- fiecre. to accomi)lish. from ex. out + faeere, to do). The impression which the mind receives at the sight of a work of art without taking cogni- zance of the details that contribute to it. In sculpture it is the movement iind general sliape of the mass, which first impresses and iiroduces the eti'ect. In iiainting. elVect is iiroduccd by the force of color, tlic balance of light and shade, and by comi)osition. Bold sketches of their works "are sometimes made by artists beforehand, for the purpose of adiusting the composition and coloring so as to produce the desired effect. EFFEN'DI (Turk, efendi. gentleman.) A term of respect among the Turks, corresponding to our Mr. or Sir. or the French monsieur. The title is frequently added to the name of an olTice,