The rat. 
rdf 
at the bottom, in the unfathomable caverns of the c- 
Cea n, where they probably continue growing for ages. 
The utmoft bulk of the ray cannot therefore be afcertain- 
e d ; but it has been fuppofed, that they are the largeft 
^habitants of the fea *. When, however, they fnrpafs 
'■he fize commonly obfervcd by the filhermen, they be- 
Co *e totally unfit for food ; the negroes, and ftarved fa- 
Va g e s of America, indeed, cut them up, even of the largeft' 
^ lze ; and the tenderer parts, when falted, are reckoned a- 
their delicious morfels. 
I'hefe fifii generate in March and April ; at which time 
“'ey fwim near the furface of the water, feveral of the 
°>ales purfuing one female ; With fuch avidity of defire 
they engage in the work of procreation, that the fifli- 
et nren frequently draw up both male and female ftill ad- 
hering together, though only one has taken the baitf. 
Tile females are prolific to an extreme degree, there 
having been no lefs than three hundred eggs taken out 
^ the body of a fingle ray. Thefe eggs, containing the 
f *tus, acquire a tough horny covering after defcending 
Irito the womb ; for while they continue in the ovarium, 
'hey are attached to it, like the fmall eggs in the body 
a hen ; after they drop into the womb, the formation 
the animal becomes vifible, and the {hell is formed by 
the 
their 
concretion of the fluids of that organ ; when come tb 
proper maturity, the young are excluded, but neve? 
a hove one or two at a time, and at the interval of three 
° r four hours. The females begin to caft their purfes, as 
he fifhers term it, in the month of May, and continue 
Reducing young till September. In Odlober, when 
their 
* Nat, Hift, f British Zpd. 
