454 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Torpedo gives, of course, varies according to the size of the fish 

 arid its state of health, but a tolerably large fish in good health, 

 can, for the time, disable a strong man. From the effects of 

 its shock, it is in some parts called the Cramp-fish. 



Colonel Montagu notices a Torpedo caught on a turbot line, 

 at Tucky. It weighed about one hundred pounds, and com- 

 pletely puzzled the fisherman, who found it hanging dead on 

 the hooks, and had never seen such a creature before. Colonel 

 Montagu quaintly remarks, that had it not been dead, the fisher- 

 man would certainly have had a shock that would have made 

 him remember the species again. 



Clavata (Lat. from Claum, a nail), the T/tornback Skate. 



The RAYS are at first sight not unlike the turbot and sole, 

 but a closer examination will show that the Rays really swim 

 with their backs upwards, whereas the turbot swims on its side. 

 The m >vement of the Ray is very curious, and is admirably 

 expressed by the word " sluddering" used by an old fisherman. 



The SKATE is caught in abundance on our shores, and m 

 England is much used as an article of food, although in Scotland 

 it is usjJ principally for bait. 



