of the Lesser Weever-fish. 



165 



the pulpy sheath of the spine ; but this, too, is nothing more 

 than conjecture. 



This little fish is much dreaded by the fishermen on the 

 southern coast of Ireland ; and an opinion prevails among 

 them, that the pain of its sting will last until the tide has 

 again arrived at the height at which it stood when the wound 

 was inflicted. This opinion, which is altogether incorrect, is 

 universally believed by the fishermen of the south of Ireland ; 

 and I was surprised to find, from the following passage in 

 Willughby's c Fishes/ that it is neither confined to any parti- 

 ' cular district, nor of modern origin : " Dolor ab ictu excitatus 

 (ut nobis retulere piscatores) per duodecem horas durat ad- 

 modum vehemens, hoc est donee mare novo accessu recessuve 

 ad eundem altitudinis modum seu terminum redeat, deinde 

 paulatim remittit." 



Though the Weever is held in particularly bad repute by 

 the fishermen, their terror is by no means confined to it, as 

 the different species of Cottus, and some other spiny fishes, 

 are not exempted from the imputation of inflicting poisoned 

 wounds ; and many of them are confounded under a common 

 unpronounceable Irish name, which may, I believe, be trans- 

 lated u Sting Devil." These fishes, however, though furnished 

 with formidable spines, appear altogether destitute of any 

 poisonous qualities. I have frequently, indeed, allowed the 

 Cottus Bubalis to inflict deep punctures on my fingers without 

 experiencing the slightest unpleasant consequences, beyond 

 those of an ordinary puncture ; and it must also be remarked, 

 that the spines of Cottus, and of other fishes which I have ex- 

 amined, and which are commonly supposed to be venomous, 

 are of altogether a different structure from those of Trachinus, 

 and not at all adapted for the introduction of virus into the 

 wound inflicted by them. 



Believe me, dear Sir, very faithfully yours, 



Geo. Jas. Allman. 



William Thompson, Esq., fyc., Belfast. 



EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURE. 



Right opercular spine of Trachinus Vipera, with the sheath removed, 

 viewed upon the external surface, and magnified about six times in linear 

 extent. 



a, a, a', a'. The grooves in the edges of the spine. 



b, V. The conical cavities in which the grooves terminate. 



c, c'. The external walls of the cavities. 



d, d'. The internal walls. 



The parietes of the cavities being transparent, d' is represented as visible 

 through the external wall. 



