378 THE STING-RAY. 



The exciting sport, the eventful day ! 

 When on you dashed throush foaming spray ; 

 The tremulous pull of the flaxen cord, 

 The royal fish that Vou hauled on board. 

 With sides of white, and blue, and gold ; 

 The elegant form, the splendid mould, 

 Of this king of the sea t this exquisite fish, 

 So regal when taken by hook or from dish. 



THE STING-RAY, 



Trygon pastinaca (Cuvier). 



Not an object of sport, but sometimes by too intimate in. 

 trusion the cause of great excitement and skill by the profes- 

 sional angler. A fish with a tail! not a mere caudal fin, 

 but a real tail like unto that of the cunning beaver, but a 

 much more formidable one, with two serrated barbs or stings, 

 which are to the uninitiated a great terror. 



Form of the body rhomboidal, head inclosed laterally by 

 the pectorals ; posterior portion of the disk of the body some- 

 what rounded. Tail from two to five feet long, somewhat 

 rounded and armed, near its origin, with a long and sharp 

 flattened spine serrated on both edges. The rest of the tail 

 slender and ending in a point ; one or two serrated stings in 

 the fleshy part of the tail. Upper surface of the body run- 

 ning from a muddy black into a dirty yellow ; under surface 

 nearly white ; teeth small. 



A strange-looking fish that has often set the angler into a 

 fever-heat on account of the report that the sting he carries 

 in his tail is venomous, which is a great error. Mr. Couch 

 says : " This species keeps on sandy ground at no great dis- 

 tance from the land, and in summer wanders into shallower 

 water. He feeds on clams, mussels, and oysters. The man- 



