St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-06-14
ELECTRICAL FISH.
Oenizens Of the Deep Sea Who
Shoot SparHL
Powerful batteries In Fishes Talls-Tales
That Are Fishy-Interesting Account
Of Some Queer Inhabltants of
the vasty Deep.

The city man in the country Is IN oh
ject OF curiosity, awe or contempt ~
the case may be. In, his unfamiltartty
with things provincial the farmer sees
something to laugh At, and in seaport
towns the verdant youth from the city
is often the source of much amusement
to the fun-loving fishermen.
Some years ago a young man, in all
the glory Of his first knickerbockers,
found himself in small fishing village
on the New England coast and liking
the location determined to spend the
season there. The morning following
his arrival he ran down to the beach.
whore he found . crowd Of red-shirted
men gathered around q fiat fish about
three feet in length. ''We're tryin' to
get some one to heft it, said an old sea
dog in answer to question. Lift it!
why, . child could do that" remarked
the young man from the city. tu
''P'raps he could" replied the fisher
man; but il You kin lug the fish from
here to the dory over yonder you kin
earn five dollars" 81 ss
You're . ane lot of men," said the
city youth, with . laugh; cant lift q
fish of that size! Why, IN wager the
same amount that can throw it that
far"
The isherrDcn .xere. very anxious to
take the wager, and finally the young
man approached. thrust his fingers into
the eyes of the fish, and-if it had been
any other fish we might have said pre-
pared to throw, but as it vas. the
moment his hands touched the fish .
strange look of surprise came over his
face and those near by might have seen
. certain rigidity of the muscles He
retained the same position for several
moments, then. with many . grimace,
asked to be relieved, and amid roars of
laughter the fish was pulled from his
hands. When the young man had re-
covered his equanimity, he confessed
that it was the heaviest fish he had ever
attempted to lift -g..t.l sifr
The fish was the ray, known popu-
larly as the torpedo torpedo marmora-
tus). and one OF the most powerful of
the marine electricians. The moment
it was touched the shock was 50 severe
Is to completely disarm the victim.
These rays are often struck by fisher
men by mistake, and the shock is i'm
mediately felt, passing up the handle
or line Of the spear. An acquaintance
Of the writer WAS disabled for several
days by . shock received in this way.
which will convey some idea Of the
power of these fishes
The torpedo is not like many electric
phenomenal hate discovery. Hun
dreds Of years ago we heard Of the Ital-
ian fishermen being benumbed BY its
shocks, though they often laid 1t 70
other causes. Others recognised Its
power and called it the thunder fish.
1t was first examined by the scientist.
Redi, whose attention was attracted by
the stories OF fishermen who were para
lyzed by some fish. His report is record
ed, in which he says: Il had scarcely
touched it with my hands when ex-
perienced a tingling sensation. which
extended to my arms and shoulders, fol-
lowed by . adisagreeable trembling, with
. painful and weak sensation in the ell
bow joint which made my arm with.
draw immediately" "The benumbiug
influence" says another, lis very differ.
ent from any similar sensation. All
over the arm there is . commotion
which it is impossible to describe, but
which, so far as comparison can be
made. resembles the sensation produced
BY striking the arm against some hard
suhstance.'
The living torpedo in these expert
ments was placed upon . wet towel,
and from the fish extended two pieces
of wire, the ends OF which rested in
bowls OF water. A circle Of persons
was formed. those upon the end placing
their fingers in the water, and by this
way the shock was received by the en-
tire party, and ften equaled that OF .
Leydon jar in its intensity. =.
In examining the torpedo the elec-
trical apparatus is very noticeable, BE-
ing made up Of two large nat bodies ly>
ing on each side of the head. The
organs are composed of numerous prisms
placed vertically. each OF which is SUBJ
divided by delicate septa, forming small
cells which contain . clear, tremulous
jelly-likc substance. In - 9pecimen T.
torpedo marmoratus one may count near
ly hve hundred Of these prisma st-l
1t has been found that the upper side
OF the fish is negative and the lower
positive. and that the lower is entirely
at the viii Of the 2sh, q under control.