Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-09-11

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carnivorous in its habits there is every
reason for supposing that it would de-
YOUR 4 man ii such victim should hap
pen into its clutch. Accounts are given
Of its assailing divers, swooping upon
them from above, so that the unfortu-
nate beholds living cloud settling over
him with eager jaws to gobble, while
helpless to escape the horrible embrace.
However, it is doubtful il there IS any
truth in such tales. Doubtless, with its
tremendous bulk and double heshy Deak
to grab with, this mighty ray must be al
awful adversary to tackle. 1t is said to
be particularly fierce when accompanied
by its offspring. You may find in the
sea devil a curious Illustration of natures
systemfor djustiDg reproduction. The cod
lays several hundred thousand eggs at a
spawning, because nearly all of them must
necessarily be lost while floating on the
waves, and those which hatch are mostly
devoured. But the sea devil, which pIo-
duces but a single young one at time,
retains the latter until the infant creature
is from four to six feet in length, so that
when born it is able to take care OF it.
self, and is in no danger Of being de-
stroyed.
"yIore remarkable, perhaps, than even
the sea devil is another member Of the
ray tribe, most familiar under the name
of torpedo or 'cramp fish, 1t has two
complete electric batteries on either side
of his head, constructed after the most
approved scientific principles. Each of
them consists of about 470 cells in the
shape of six sided tubes placed side by
side. The walls of these cells are lined
with nerve tissue aad each one is filled
with a clear, trembling jelly. Precisely
how many volts this duplex galvanic
apparatus is capable OF administering has
never been determined, but frequent ex-
periencc has shown the power to be suf-
icicnt to knock down and Temporarily
paralvze man. Natives in Central Am
erica are said to make a practice OF
driving wild horses into water where
cramp fish are, in order that the latter
may stun the frightened quadrapedS and
make them easy to capture. So that
shock shall be administered, the object
must be brought into contact at two
points with the torpel), thus completing
the electric circuit. Scientific men re-
gard this as one Of the most interesting
of natural phenomena. Two other kinds
Of animals possess galvanic batteries-a
catfish and an eel. The two latter have
the storage cells situated in their tails.
In all three cases the electricity IS merely
trlnsformcl nervous energy. The oil OF
the cramp fish is commonly believed to
be good for rienalisn and cramps.
"Saw fishes belong to tho order OF
rays, although their bodies have the
shape of ordinary fishes. They swi m
wholly with their tails aud the long
weapons which adorn their noses are
merely prolongations of the snout, armed /
on either side with teeth in sockets and
covered with rough skin Of great tough
ness. With this formidable instrument
they attack their prey, tearing pieces OF /
flesh from its body or ripping open the
abdomen to feed upon the inte'tines OF
the victim. There is something posi- /
lively abnormal about all these creatures
called rays. They suggest the notion OF
fishes antediluvian and it is not surprising
to find many large aud extinct species
among the fossils OF vanished epochs.