COD, HADDOCKS, WHITING, BREAM, ETC 459 



and also those in the back fin nearest the head, are grooved 

 and convey poison into wounds which they make. Even 

 after the fish is dead pricks from these spines cause serious 

 injury. The sea fisherman who hooks one of these fish or 

 finds any in his net should have no difficulty in avoiding these 

 spines. The risks run by bathers, and children who paddle 

 without sand shoes, are far greater. According to Couch, the 

 fish are well aware of the weapons they possess, and use them 



THE VIPER WEEVER 



THE GREATER WEEVER 



on the slightest provocation. That naturalist described how 

 from time to time he threw salt water over a greater weever 

 which had been caught and was lying at the bottom of the 

 boat, with the object of keeping it alive, and irritated it by 

 touching it with a stick. Whichever part of the body the stick 

 touched, the weever unerringly struck it with its spine by 

 bending the body and throwing its head back with a rapid 

 jerk. One of the best remedies for the bites of these fish is 

 the application of sweet oil, to which opium may be added to 

 allay the pain. In Whitechapel the greater weevers are sold 



