Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1885-04-08
A SLIPPERY SUBJECT
essT A 0esLEH k'o'~s ssoUT EELs
A fisl1,sss ssss Sss rirss eaetry a. D~feass
isas SSess..stes-f fhs aieroscoVa sass
ke-s n4ss >e4i.s~ths El.h "a
D1f-a4s41 ia eEle4kes


~Sss. SiF can leli ye1 al zb-sat esls.~
sal ta.s lslsso1zeF, p ant q very e'lrla $
lsp theY aFs- Ils consumption "a Nll,a-
- . net large comparatively --a9s nsarly
80 large la t1s Easl-3ut lt Is very con-
sidsFabls. / sell a5ss1t 3ue E0AiF,s4 Pouads
wees. sat NV Duslae-s l. aoE as iarss
a. same others. fhsrs are bstwesn tssnty-
five aal tairgy hsh establishments ia Chi
eago, an1 il ~ould u within bounds 60 say
bhal from !, a0 - ~ pounds ~ ssls are
c5asuulsd la Chicago sYerY ~eez ia the
aei.lt sf the nsh season Ia very hot
weather ~e aoa't get them. because
can. keep rhesa- fasF ara Skipped 10 us
dressed from Boston aad Se~ York. The
caa,siI.ers here ars principally f0Fei .asrs.
though AleFic 4ns es1 them - some sx-
tsnt. " ia "a II l. cultivated taste,
tank. fas restaurants take very few.
They sell AZ about Ia same price =, other
lsh, from twelve and a2lf cents y twenty
cents a pound, 2cc0rdin. O. the supply
and the demaaL Ia Europe the con-
sul4ption Is enormous, millions aud mill
IONS 0f pounds annually, znd they 50
.oa Z, I'D 30 ablndaat. that you viii ind
theta on the tables or the rich a. veil as Of
ths poor. The Jews .ni the Scotch DO
uol "a them. A SeOtchman would about
as soon eat an adder as an eel, bat that's
simply a prejudice arising from the
senblance Of the hsa 70 serpent. The
Jews don't eat them, though they are great
nsh eaters, because they suppose them -
come within the Ievitical prohi bition that
nsh thout scales must not be eaten. The
microscope, however, dsscloses that the
eel Is lsn with scales, 50 that the dish Is
open O. Jewry, il they choose o. distrust
the naked eye, aud believe in science. Ia
Europe eel culture Is carried on very sue
csssfully, particularly IN France and
Italy. Ia Holland they have extensive
eel fisheries that chiefly supply the Lon
don market. London consumes about
100000 pounds OF eels every year. Hot
ees aud eel pie are sold In the London
streets just like hot cross buns. IL is the
same way in the Italian cities, and the
Italians eat thsm at Christmas time for
breakfast, dinner and supper They think
- much Of an eel dinner at Christmas as
Ne do Of turkey dinner"
- Are they wholesome"
II mans digestion is good they are,
but you see they contain great deal OF
rich, fatty matter not exactly suited TO all
stomachs. Like ali rich fool they should
D. used in moderation. But the taste is
delicious, stswed or broilsd. Fried they
are not 30 good. because too oily. One OF
the curious things about eels is that the
scientists we're 50 long puzzed about their
mode % prOcreation. l. is only within
recent years-the last fifteen or twenty,
should say-that IL has been discovered
that they spawn like other fish. l can re-
/ member when 1 was a boy some OF the
/ ridiculous notions that common people
held about them. Chopped hOrse-hair
/ thrown into the water was certain to turn
/ into cells. a dead horse thrown into the
water would produce innum srable
/ quantity. Some thought that the summer
dsws produced them. There are several
I places in England that derive their names
/ from the quantity II eels they formerly
/ produced Elmore is one, and Ellesmere
il another, but the most famous Is Ely,
and that, it is said, gOL is .name In this
way: In the old, cd times the priests OF
that part Of the country took wives to
themselves and would not give them up,
no mattss what the Pope said, whereupon
their wives and children were all turned
into eels miraculously, whence the
own got the name Of Ely. Some
/ people believe this 70 be lie. but
reporters are not 40 incredulous. Any.
way, tell you the tale "a it was told 20
me. The place is called Ely even to this
/ day, and know from what / have read
I that there is Bishop there who gets
very large salary. Perhaps he takes SONS
Of It in cells. ! ssppose It is not neces ,ary
for me TO remind you that the Roman cpl
cures were v5ry fond OF eels, and kept ex-
tensivs eel pom l., and a favOrite food FOR
the slippery fav0rite vas slave, especially
drowned for the occasion. Slavs-fed eels
wsre considered dish fit for an Emperor.
| The fact i, the eel is very voracious fish
and 10 fond Of all kinds Of s9od- There Is
nothing COO dslicats and few things too
nasty for his omnivsrous appetite. They
drown each other and any other fish they
can fnd. but they viii readily leave that
FOR any little tid-bit of animal carcas
floating in their domain. They are a fresh
water fish, but 70 - the sea 20 spawn,
hence they are not found extensively in
our Western lakes and rivers. It is only
within few years tha. their habits have
been studied carefully. but I believe they
are now considered migratory like the
shad and sslmou, The difficulty Of hold
Ing an eel has ban given rise % many
proverbs all having mOrs Or less al
iuSion u his slippery nature It is
about an impossihilisy 20 hold live eel
in the naked hand. tho ugh f. is said
some fishermen have the kpack Of it, IL
l. thei al tlsh that an angler desires 20
SO on MS hook. for his ability 70 ent angle
a line into an inexsricable succession Of
Gordian knots il nothing less than de-
monisc could not tell you whether
thev Ike 20 he skinned alive nor not,
though you have the authority ~ the Bill
Hnxsgata dsh woman that they 10. I can
aid nothing 20 her testimony on thar
point. Their tenscity cf lifs il verv
rras.. but thsv 40 not survive decapita-
tion. any OH sories ~ cut-Ip length Of
eal .iurn ping out ~ the frying pan into
The frs' g. the contrary uotwith standing.
sThe skin ~ the 81 "a remarkably
tough. and. IN some places. the Old fash
ionat psdsgogues used it on the boy IN
stead ~ birch. thus 'skinuinz' refractory
pupils instead ~ hirchinz hem. It has
also ranked along With potatoes. huckevss