THE SKATE. 183 



movements are undulatory, or sliding, and 

 performed by flappings, more or less violent, of 

 their wing-like fins, the long slender tail being 

 lashed from side to side. The skates produce 

 their young in horny cases, much resembling 

 those of the dog-fish, but broader in propor- 

 tion, and with thicker and shorter filaments. 

 They breed in the spring and summer, and 

 are consequently in the best condition during 

 the winter, and the flaky flesh of various parts 

 is then very delicate. The females of the skates, 

 or rays, of most common occurrence, are called 

 by the fishermen maids ; as the skate-maid, 

 the thornback-maid, etc. 



Of the species most frequently met with, 

 we may notice the long-nosed skate, {Raia 

 chagrinea,) a large species, and at once distin- 

 guishable by its long, slender, tapering snout. 

 In the old males the teeth are very sharp, but 

 flat in the females. Besides this, there is the 

 true skate, {Raia batis,) also called the blue or 

 grey skate. In this species both sexes when 

 adult have sharp teeth. It is common on our 

 coast. 



A species, termed the sharp-nosed ray, or 

 white skate, (Raia oxyrlnjnchns,') is taken in 

 abundance, and great numbers are sold at 

 Plymouth to the French fishermen for their 



