P 
F'ishes of Massachusetts. 551. 
Island, near Wellfleet. They were taken for their 
livers, which are thought beneficial in cases of cramp. 
He has not, however, heard of any one having been 
taken for several years past. Mr. Covell also informs 
me, that he has repeatedly seen them, and been elec- 
trified by them at Wellfleet ; but has not met with 
one for ten or twelve years. Mr. Newcomb, sen., 
relates an anecdote, which proves the electrical power 
of this fish beyond a doubt. His father, who resided 
at Wellfleet, had a dog which frequently waded into 
the shallow water of the coves, and brought out 
Jlounders, which he had seized with his mouth. In 
one of his fishing excursions, he attacked a torpedo, 
which perfectly convulsed him ; he dropped the fish, 
and ran away howling most piteously, and could 
never afterward be persuaded to resume his fishing. 
The last three gentlemen I have had occasion to 
refer to before. They are men of unimpeachable 
veracity, and I take great pleasure in acknowledging 
my obligations to them. 
These are all the species found in our waters, 
of which I have any knowledge. Many of the spe- 
cies, however, described by Le Sueur, as found on 
the coast of Rhode Island; and by Mitchell, as in- 
habitants of the waters of New York, will undoubt- 
edly be discovered in and about Buzzard’s Bay. And 
even in the cold waters north of “the Cape,” rich 
acquisitions may reasonably be expected by the 
ichthyologist, who has the leisure and the zeal for 
minute and accurate observation. 
