360 PROF. W. N. PARKER ON THE [Jutie 19, 



and he simply conjectures that the seat of the virus is in " the pulpy 

 sheath of the spine." 



The most important observations on the subject which have been 

 made by any English naturalist are undoubtedly those of Byerley (3), 

 which appeared in 1849, but which have not been credited by many 

 subsequent authors. 



Byerley correctly describes and figures transverse sections of the 

 opercular and dorsal spines, as well as the position of the glands in 

 connexion with them. In examining the microscopic structure of 

 the glands, he simply scraped a portion out of its groove with a 

 needle and mounted it in water, so that it is not to be wondered at 

 that in this respect his conclusions are far from accurate ; the " tubes," 

 " sacculi," and " follicles" which he describes are quite imaginary. 

 He was unable to make out any duct, and mentions that the integu- 

 ment completely covers even the points of the spines in a normal 

 condition, but that they are rarely seen thus, as they usually 

 protrude for some distance from their loose sheaths. His explana- 

 tion of the manner in which the secretion is injected into the wound 

 is that when the spine is driven some distance forcibly into the 

 flesh, the integument which covers it yields to the pressure of the 

 wounded parts, and is thus thrust downwards towards the base 

 of the spine. In this way the gland must be squeezed with some 

 violence, and its contents pass along the grooves of the spine into 

 the wound. This unsatisfactory account of the structure of the 

 glands led Giinther (13) to doubt the accuracy of Byerley's con- 

 clusions, and to consider that the substance which he took for a 

 gland was simply '* the poisonous fluid itself, coagulated or hardened 

 by the action of the spirits in which the specimen had been pre- 

 served." Giinther, moreover, states elsewhere (11) that "no special 

 poison-organ has been found in these fishes, but there is no doubt that 

 the mucous secretion in the vicinity of the spines has poisonous pro- 

 perties." (Comp. also 12.) 



Day (9) also states that nothing certain is known, either as to the 

 seat of the poison or the manner of its ejection, and mentions that 

 " it has been surmised that the virus is a secretion or excretion from 

 the mucous surface of the loose skin which covers the spines." 



Couch (5) describes "the skill and precision with which the for- 

 midable spine of the neck (of T. draco) is directed to an object of 

 fear," and, without mentioning Byerley at all, states that " the spines 

 of the dorsal fin have also been an object of dread ; but in these cases 

 the wound is only accidental, and the fish does not employ them for 

 any purpose of injury or defence." He also states that " it is certain 

 that no exudation or discharge of a poisonous fluid proceeds from 

 this projecting (opercular) spine."' 



Yarrell (22) quotes Couch, and mentions that the Weever " strikes 

 with great force either upwards or sideways. Pennant states that 

 he has seen it direct its blows with as much judgment as a fighting 

 cock." 



Macalister (16) simply states that the Weever "is commonly 

 thought to inflict poisonous wounds;" and Seeley (18) speaks of the 



