THE POISON OF THE MURRY 



make use of it more frequently or to better purpose 

 than other poisonous fish; although it only employs 

 it for defensive purposes and in exceptional circum- 

 stances, this act of defence, which consists of biting, 

 is a vigorous action contrasting strongly with the 

 murry's accustomed passivity. The sting-ray stings 

 only when it is handled, or when it is trodden upon. 

 It would be fairer to say that it stings when we make 

 it do so, for otherwise the animal remains passive. 

 The murry, on the other hand, deliberately bites 



Fig. 25. — The Gofu. Poisonous fish found in the Indian Ocean. 



anyone who tries to get hold of it. The two facts 

 are quite definitely different, and they show the murry, 

 of all fishes, as a poisonous animal in a more complete 

 and precise sense. 



But this special quality, this distinction, is more 

 apparent than real. The toxic products, capable of 

 exhibiting poisonous qualities, which come from the 

 mouth, are not the only ones which the organism is 

 able to give forth. There are others, engendered in 

 other parts. The blood, gathering them to itself, 

 holds them dissolved in its serum. The latter, in the 

 murry, possesses toxic properties. If it is extracted 

 and used in inoculation, effects are observed com- 



147 



