THE COMMON BOG FISH. 



463 



DOQ FISH XOOS. 



men, and on persons bathing in the sea. As, however, they arfl 

 smaller and more weak than most other Sharks, they do not attack 

 their more exposed enemies by open force. In combating them, it is 

 necessary to have recourse to stratagem. They consequently, for this 

 purpose, conceal themselves in mud, and lie in ambush, like the Kays, 

 until they have an opportunity of acting offensively with success. 

 Their usual food consists of nsh and other marine animals, of which 

 they destroy immense numbers. 



Their flesh is hard and disagreeable to the taste, diffusing also a 

 utrong odor, which somewhat resembles that of musk. Their dried 

 skins constitute the well-known article of commerce called shagreen, 

 or the skin of the Dog-fish. The small and hard tubercles with which 

 these are covered, render them useful in the polishing of wood, ivory 

 and even of iron. 



