132 
STING RAY. 
Murderous alike tkey ravage all the sea, 
First give the mortal wound, then seize the prey. 
In this they differ ; when the Sword Fish dies. 
Extinct with him the mouldering weapon lies. 
Not so the Fireflair’s dart; that still survives 
The dying fish, and in its venom lives. 
None equal that the Eay-hke Fireflair bears; 
No dreaded stroke, no killing wound like hers. 
All things must yield; the dire iiffection’s such. 
The solid fliut would moulder at the touch. 
When rising shrubs their spreading branches shoot, 
Pride in their leaves, or joy in ripening fruit. 
If with the Fireflair’ a spear the hand unkind 
But grate the root, or prick the tender rind. 
The leaves shrink in and all the glories fade, 
Eioh sap no more is through the pipes convey’d; 
No kind supplies flow round the porous stem. 
Cast a bright green and swell the smiling gem, 
But killing juices all the fibres taint. 
And tarnish’d verdure tells the fatal want. 
JElian says that such a wound was beyond the reach of 
remedy; but we find it prescribed for, and even with remedies 
that could have possessed but little of the powers of healing. 
And with all the fear which existed concerning it, it appears 
surprising that there were people bold enough to employ it 
for the purpose of enabling children to cut their teeth the more 
easily. When reduced to powder it was believed also to have 
the power of relieving the tooth-ache, and of finally causing 
decaying teeth to drop from their sockets. Nor, with some 
explanation, is this last prescription so entirely useless as at 
first sight might appear. The powder was mixed with that of 
white hellebore; and if medical writers of no mean credit are 
to be believed, this vegetable preparation is really possessed 
of the virtues ascribed to this composition; and it was a popular 
empiric application in the middle ages. 
The Sting Eay is not a common fish in England; but it is 
scarce rather than rare ; and mostly perhaps because the swampy 
places it frequents are not usually resorted to by fishermen; 
besides which it does not often take a bait. It has been 
supposed that the dart is of some use in obtaining its food, 
which appears to be small fish. By some, especially in remote 
times, this fish has been commended for the table; but Risso 
speaks unfavourably of it. 
The length of the specimen described was thirty-one inches and 
a half, the tail measuring sixteen inches; the greatest breadth 
