The following curious fact is recorded by Mr. Swallow, some years since the British Consul-General in Russia:—Having occasion to go from Petersburgh to Moscow, where eels are a great rarity, he ordered some, to carry as a present; upon being taken out of the water, they were thrown upon the ground to be frozen, and soon appeared quite dead, and almost a piece of ice; they were then packed in snow, and when arrived at Moscow, which was four days after, the eels being put into cold water, and so thawed, discovered gradually signs of life, and soon perfectly recovered!
The eel was anciently said to possess the power of enforcing sobriety upon the most devoted subject of the jolly god. “If you would some notorious drunkard and common swil-bowle to loth and abhorre his beastlie vice, and for ever after to hate the drinking of wine, put an eele alyue into some wyde mouthed potte with a couer, hauing in it suche a quantitie of wine as may suffice of itselfe to suffocate and strangle the eele to death; which doone, take out the dead eele, and let the partie, whom you would have reclaymed from his bibacitie, not knowing hereof, drinke of that wine onely, euen as much as he listeth.”—Jesse—Daniel—Sir H. Davy, &c.
Eft, s. A newt, an evet, a small lizard.
Egg, s. That which is laid by feathered animals, from which their young is produced; the spawn or sperm of creatures.
Eggs of Birds.—By experiment it appears that birds do not instinctively know the necessary time of incubation.
Those who suppose a bird capable of producing eggs at will, or that any bird is excited to lay more eggs than usual by daily robbing their nest, are certainly mistaken. In a domesticated fowl it is probable the desire of incubation may be prolonged by leaving little or nothing in the nest to sit on. It will therefore lay the number allotted by nature, which is determined before the first egg is produced.
It is but few birds, if any, that would produce a second lot of eggs in the same season if unmolested; but if their nests are destroyed, it is probable three or four separate lots may be produced.
The growth of an egg after impregnation is exceedingly rapid; the yolk only is formed in the ovarium, where it remains till within twenty-four hours of its being produced; when that part is fully matured, it separates and falls down the oviduct into the uterus, where the egg is perfectly formed; first, the vitellus or yolk is surrounded by the albumen or white; and lastly is covered with a calcareous shell. The very expeditious growth of these last appear to be an extraordinary exertion of nature. The calcareous covering of an egg is concreted and formed in a most expeditious manner; a few hours only seem necessary for this work. Only one vitellus separates from the ovarium at a time, (except as we shall hereafter mention,) till the exclusion of which no other succeeds. But this is a daily production, with few exceptions, there is no more time allowed for perfecting the albumen and shell than twenty-four hours.