540 THE COMMON SKATE. 



weather. Autumn and winter are the best seasons for procuring this 

 fish, as the flesh is then firm and white, while during the rest of the 

 year it is rather liable to become flabby. Thornbacks taken in No- 

 vember are thought to be the best. 



This species, like the rest of the Rays, feeds on Crustacea, flat-fish, 

 and molluscs; and, as many of these creatures possess very hard shells, 

 the Rays are furnished with a crushing-mill of teeth, which roll on each 

 other in such a way that even the stony shell of a crab is broken up 

 under the pressure. 



The young of this and other Skates are produced from eggs, whose 

 form is familiar to every visitor to the seashore, where they go by the 

 popular name of Skate-barrows. Their color is black, their texture 

 leathery, thin, and tough, and their form wonderfully like a common 

 hand-barrow, the body of the barrow being represented by the middle 

 of the egg, and the handles by the four projections at the angles. The 

 empty cases are continually thrown on the beach, but it is seldom that 

 the young are found enclosed, except after a violent storm or when ob- 

 tained by means of the dredge. 



This species is notable for certain thorny appendages to the skin, 

 which are profusely sown over the back and whole upper surface, 

 and among which stand out conspicuously a few very large tubercu- 

 lar spines with broad, oval, bony bases and curved, sharp-pointed 

 projections. Fifteen or sixteen of these bony thorns are found on 

 the back. Along the spine runs a single row of similar spines,, and 

 at the commencement of the tail it is accompanied by another row on 

 either side, making that member a very formidable instrument of of- 

 fence. In point of fact, the tail is as formidable a weapon as can be 

 met with, and the manner in which this living quarter-staff" is wielded 

 adds in no slight degree to its power. When angered the Skate bends 

 its body into a bow-like form, so that the tail nearly touches the snout, 

 and then, with a sudden fling, lashes out with the tail in the direction 

 of the offender, never failing to inflict a most painful stroke if the blow- 

 should happen to take eflfect. 



The color of the Thornback Skate is brown, diversified with many 

 spots of brownish gray, and the under parts are pure white. 



The Common Skate, sometimes called the Tinker, is so well known 

 that only a very short description is needed. 



This fish is found on all our coasts in great plenty, and sometimes 

 attains to a really large size, a fine specimen having been known to 

 weigh two hundred pounds. The fishermen have a custom of calling 

 the female Skate a Maid, and the male, in consequence of the two elon- 

 gated appendages at the base of the tail, is called the Three-tailed Skate. 

 It IS a very voracious creature, eating various kinds of fish, crustaceans, 

 and other inhabitants of the deep. 



