1 88 NORTH SEA FISHERS AND FIGHTERS 



good murder mystery or a serious political squabble is 

 to the townsman. I found in conversation with a fisher- 

 man that he made something of a hobby of the ray 

 species. " Ray-fish suckle their young," he said, "and 

 fishermen often enough, judging that they are with 

 young, will cut the females open and throw the young 

 into the sea, where, if it's calm, you can see 'em darting 

 about ; but they don't live, because they haven't their 

 mothers to nourish 'em. Dogfish suckle their young, 

 too, and sometimes the female dogfish will be hauled up 

 with the young hanging on. Sometimes, when caught 

 and cut open, the young will be born. This is called by 

 some fishermen 'shooting their young.' Some fishes 

 suffer from awful diseases, and I know enough about 

 skates to keep me from ever touching 'em as food. In 



some parts fishermen call 'em " But I had better 



not repeat the word. What this informant told me was 

 in remarkably close agreement with what several emi- 

 nent naturalists have written concerning the ray tribe. 



North Sea fishermen have their own peculiar and 

 quaint convictions with regard to right and wrong. 

 Like the children of Israel, they glory in overcoming an 

 opponent in a bargain. They have also original ideas 

 concerning property, especially that which may be looked 

 upon as national. Money is given by a public depart- 

 ment for recovering marked fishes and marine animals, 

 and some of the sons of the North Sea have distinguished 

 themselves by achievements which are not, and will not 

 be, recorded in official reports as to the growth and 

 welfare of the food supplies for market. On the coast, 

 at a place where crabs and coblemen abound, a duly 

 appointed investigator engaged a couple of men and 



