VENOM OF ITS SPINES. 1 1 7 



it direct its blows with as much judgment as a fighting 

 cock Fishermen hold it in great dread ; and the name 

 of sting-bull is said to be due to its power of piercing 

 even the proverbial thickness of a bull's hide. 



Cuvier considers the imputation of venom to the 

 wounds made by the Weever as a popular error. He 

 says, " They cannot inject into the wounds they inflict 

 with their spines any poisonous substance, properly so 

 called ; but, as these spines are very strong and sharp- 

 pointed, and can no doubt pierce the flesh to a consider- 

 able depth, these wounds, like all others of the same 

 description, may produce dangerous consequences if 

 care is not taken to enlarge them, and to allow the 

 blood to flow; this perhaps, is the most certain, as 

 the simplest remedy, and much preferable to the 

 boasted applications of the ancients." 



This is oracular; but it does not appear that the 

 decision of the great French anatomist was grounded 

 on any definite experiments. Mr. Couch, on the other 

 hand, has known three men wounded successively in 

 the hand by the same fish (the Greater Weever), and the 

 consequences have been felt in a few minutes as high 

 as the shoulder. It is certain that the spinous bristles 

 of certain caterpillars have the power of inflicting 

 envenomed wounds, which in some cases even prove 

 fatal, notwithstanding the minuteness of the organs, 



