278 SKATE. 



by no means so great as during the summer; and they 

 are also gradually impaired as the fish, after a certain 

 time, increases in age, and, consequently, declines in 

 strength. Torpedoes are frequently caught in Torbay, 

 along with other flat-fish ; and they are by no means un- 

 common on several other parts of the English coasts. 

 They are likewise found in the Mediterranean Sea and 

 the Persian Gulf. 



They grow to a great size, weighing sometimes from 

 sixty to eighty pounds. The head and body are indistinct, 

 and nearly circular. The skin is smooth, of a cinereous 

 brown on the upper parts of the body, and white beneath. 

 The eyes are small, and situated near each other ; and 

 behind each eye there is a round spiracle, or breathing- 

 hole, having six points in the inside. The mouth is armed 

 with several sharp-pointed teeth. 



Skate. There is no fish of the present tribe which is 

 so much in request for the table as the Skate. It fre- 

 quently grows to a large size. Willughby speaks of one 

 so huge, that he says it would have served a hundred 

 and twenty men for dinner. The eggs of these fish are 

 a kind of square, flat bag, of a black colour. The 

 empty shells are to be seen upon almost every shore. 

 Skates usually swim near the bottom of the water, and 

 chiefly avoid the rocky parts of the sea. They feed on 

 crabs, lobsters, testaceous animals, and fish of various 

 kinds. 



The Skate is a well-known fish, of a flat and somewhat 

 rhomboidal shape. Its teeth are sharp-pointed, and on its 

 tail there is a single row of spines. In this respect it 

 differs from the thornback, which has blunt teeth, and 

 several rows of spines, both upon the back and tail. The 



