The electric ray or torpedo is, however, the most curious of all these fishes. It has the same power of giving an electric shock as the electric eel, and, in fact, it is more violent, as the shock of the torpedo sometimes occasions death. Baron Humboldt informs us, that when a fish was cut through the middle, the fore-part of the body still continued to give shocks.
THE ELECTRIC RAY, OR TORPEDO.
Image
The bony sucking-fishes, such as the remora, have been already described; but there are others of the cartilaginous family which are quite distinct, and, in fact, approach very nearly to snakes. The tongue is furnished with two rows of small teeth, and this organ, acting like a piston in the circular mouth, is an essential part of the mechanism by which the fish is enabled to attach itself firmly to stones, or to fasten itself to the larger fishes which it is thus enabled to suck and devour at its leisure. The great sea-lamprey is one of these fishes, which grows to the length of more than three feet. Its colour is yellowish, marbled with brown, and it is generally caught as it ascends the rivers in spring and autumn. The river lamprey or lampern is much smaller than the other kind, and it is caught principally in the Thames and the Severn. It is sometimes called the nine-holed eel, from its having nine small holes on the side of the body. Its colour is a silvery grey.
The glutinous hag or borer closely resembles the reptile called the blind worm. "It enters," says Pennant, "the mouths of other fishes when on the hooks attached to the lines, and totally devours the whole except the skin and bones." In some places it is called the borer, because they say it first pierces a small aperture in the skin, and afterwards buries itself in the abdomen of other fishes. It is most usually found in the body of the cod, or some other equally rapacious fish. The lancelet is a very curious little fish, of which only one specimen has been found, and that was taken by Mr. Couch on the shore near Polperro in Cornwall. "A portion of the tail," Mr. Yarrell tells us, "was sticking out from underneath a stone in a small pool left by the tide. Mr. Couch perceiving it, took it up with some water in the hollow of his hands. It was alive, very active, and so transparent that the viscera were perceivable through the external covering." This fish is extremely rare, and it seems to be the connecting link between the fishes and the slugs or snails.
CONCLUSION.
The preceding pages are intended to combine amusement with instruction, and to shew young people that there are real wonders in Nature more marvellous than a fairy tale. Another, and more important object has been to raise the mind "From nature up to nature's God," and to point out how beautifully every creature is adapted to the situation in which it is placed; an adaptation so striking, that it is impossible to contemplate it with indifference. The study of natural objects is, indeed, above all other studies, calculated, not only to excite interest and astonishment, but to impress every thinking mind with a deep feeling of awe and admiration for the Mighty Power by whom they have been created; and when we see the care and foresight that have been bestowed on the formation of the inferior animals, it is impossible to forget that they are the work of the Almighty Being who formed ourselves.
Cause and support of all things! Can we see
Creation's wonders, and not think of Thee?
The stately beast that stalks across the plain,
The fishes gliding through the watery main,
The birds, with all their varying plumage bright,
And all that glads the heart or strikes the sight;
All are Thy works—part of the wondrous plan
That rises from the lowest worm to man.
INDEX
A.
Acidulous springs, 205.
Adam's Peak, 9.
Adelsberg cavern, 111.
Aerolites, 236.
African caverns, 115; deserts, 131, 133; mountains, 17; rivers, 196; sparrow-hawk, 321.
Alleghany mountains, 34.
Alps, the, 24.
American falls, 213; bison, 293; caverns, 117; rivers, 189; vultures, 314.
Ammonites, 160.
Amphibious animals, 268.
Andes, puna of the, 125.
Angel fish, 379.
Angora cat, 263.
Anguina proteus, 186.
Animal life, wonders of, 249.
Animals, amphibious, 268.
Antelope family, 291.
Anthius, 351.
Apes, 252.
Apistus, 354.
Arabian deserts, 134.
Ararat, 13.
Armadillo, 280.
Armed bull-head, 353.
Asbestos mountains, 17.
Asiatic cataracts, 215; deserts, 134; lakes, 182; mountains, 4; rivers, 193.
Ass, the, 287.
Atmospheric phenomena, 226.
Atoll, an, 171.
Audersbach, rocks at, 79.
Aurora borealis, 232.
Australian deserts, 136; hedgehog, 281.
Avalanches, 42.
Avocet, 337.
Ayeaye, 275.
Azores, volcanic islands off the, 92.
B.
Baboons, 252.
Badger, 256.
Barbary antelope, 291.
Barrier reefs, 172.
Bats, 252.
Bear, 255.
Beaver, 276.
Belemnite, 161.
Bell-bird, or Campanero, 326.
Ben Nevis, 65.
Birds, 313.
Bison, American, 293; European, 292.
Black River, 197; Sea, 177.
Blacksmith-bird, 327.
Boiling spring at Solfatara, 209; at Peroul, 212; in New Zealand, 210.
Bolder-Born, spring at, 205.
Bonasus, 292.
Bonnington Linn, 218.
Bony fishes with soft fins, 365; with spiny fins, 350.
Borer, 382.
Bore, when and how it occurs, 192.
Borromean isles, 187.
Bower-bird, 328.
Bradwell cavern, 105.
Brazil, Organ mountains of, 31.
Breezes, land and sea, 241.
Bridge of Icononzo, 27.
British rocks, 67.
Brocken mountain, 62; spectre of the, 62.
Buffalo fish, 359.
C.
Camel, 288.
Campanero, or bell-bird, 326.
Cape buffalo, 298.
Carp, 365.
Caspian Sea, 178.
Cassowary, 334.
Castor-oil plant, 132.
Cat family, 258.
Caucasus, 12.
Caverns, 100.
Cedar bird, 326.
Cephalopterus, 327.
Cetaceous animals, 301.
Chanting-falcon, 321.
Chatterers, 326.
Chicken-hawk, 320.
Chimpanzee, 251.
Chlamyphorus, 280.
Chowries, 300.
Climbers, 332.
Climbing perch, 362.
Cloudberry, 138.
Coal mines, 143.
Cockatoo, 333.
Colic-stones, 356.
Conclusion, 383.
Condor of the Andes, 314.
Conger eel, 371.
Copper mines, 142.
Corallines, 159.
Coral reefs, 168.
Corals, 148.
Cordilleras, 25.
Cormorant, 343.
Corra Linn, 218.
Cotopaxi, 88.
Cottus gobio, 352.
Cow, 292.
Crinoidal animals, 157.
Cumberland cavern, 105.
Cumbrian mountains, 63.
Currents, 175.
D.
Danube, 199.
Dartmoor, 69.
Dead Sea, 182.
Delta of the Niger, 198; of the Nile, 196.
Derbyshire mountains, 64.
Derwentwater, 173.
Deserts, 120; of Arabia, 134.
Despoblado of the Andes, 125.
Devil's Bridge, 78.
Dewerstone cliff, 70.
Dhawala-giri, 8.
Diablerets, 46.
Dinornis, 156.
Dinotherium, 156.
Diodon atinga, 375.
Diurnal birds of prey, 314.
Dog-fish, 380.
Dog tribe, 264.
Dolphin of the Mediterranean, 361; the true, 305.
Domestic cats, origin of, 263.
Dove Dale, rocks in, 67.
Drift avalanches, 42.
Dromedary, 290.
Dropping well, 207.
Drum-fish, 356.
Dry mountains, 19.
Duck-bill, 281, 282.
Dudley caverns, 106; encrinites, 158.
Dugong, 302, 303.
E.
Eagle ray, 381.
Eagles, 319.
Earthquakes, 162.
Echidna, 281.
Eels, 370.
Electric eel, 371; ray, 381.
Elephant, 283.
European bison, 292; mountains, 24.
F.
Falcons, 318.
Fan-fish, 360.
Father-lasher, 353.
Feline animals, 258.
Fingal's Cave, 108.
Fishes, 348.
Fishing-frog, 364.
Flamingo, 338.
Fly-catchers, 325.
Flying-fish, 366.
Flying gurnard, 352.
Fox, 265.
Fox shark, 378.
Fossil remains, 150.
G.
Gar-fish, 366.
Gazelle, 291.
Geneva, Lake of, 186.
German mountains, 61.
Geysers of Iceland, 208.
Giant's Castle, 79; Causeway, 109.
Giggleswick well, 205.
Giraffe, 290.
Glaciers of the Alps, 36.
Globe-fishes, 374.
Glutinous hag, 382.
Gnawing animals, 274.
Goat-sucker, 330.
Goitre, 41.
Golden eagle, 319.
Gold mines, 139.
Grampian mountains, 65.
Grampus, 306.
Grand and petit mulets, 50.
Granite in China, 81.
Grass-eating whales, 302.
Great horned owl, 323.
Great Karoo, 133.
Great St. Bernard, 56.
Grebes, 340.
Greenland whale, 309.
Green plover, 335.
Grey shrike, 324.
Grindelwald, glaciers of, 37.
Grotto del Cane, the, 115; of Antiparos, 115; of Fredericshall, 111; of Adelsberg, 111.
Grunting ox, 300.
Guachos, 296.
Guadiana, 202.
Guillemots, 340.
Gulf stream, 176.
Gull, the common, 342.
Gurnard, 351.
Gymnotus electricus, 371.
H.
Halicore, 302.
Hammer-headed shark, 379.
Harpy eagle, 315, 320.
Hartz mountain, 61.
Hecla, 86.
Hedgehog, Australian, 281.
Helvellyn, 63.
Heron, 336.
High Peak, 64.
Himalaya mountains, 5.
Hippocampus, 373.
Hippopotamus, 285.
Holland, storks in, 336.
Hooper, or whistling swan, 345.
Horse, 295.
Humboldt's account of the condor, 314.
Humming-birds, 331.
Hyena, 258.
I.
Ice avalanches, 43.
Iceland, Geysers of, 208.
Ichthyosaurus, 151.
Iguana, fossil, 154.
Iguanodon, 154.
Indian ox, 300.
Iron mines, 142.
Isinglass sturgeon, 377.
J.
Jackal, 265.
Jaguar, 261.
Java, mud lake of, 212.
Jerboa, 275.
K.
Kangaroo, 272.
Kents-Hole, 107.
King vulture, 317.
King-bird, 325.
King-fisher, 332.
Knaresborough, petrifying spring at, 207.
L.
Lakes, 178.
Lammer-geyer, 318.
Lampern, 382.
Lamprey, 382.
Lancelet, 382.
Landes of Bordeaux, 137.
La Perte du Rhone, 202.
Lapwing, 335.
Las Salinas, 121.
Lasso, 121, 295.
Lay Well, 205.
Leaping gorfou, 341.
Lebanon, 14.
Lepidopus, 360.
Libanus, 14.
Linton, valley of rocks at, 72.
Lion, 260.
Lipari, Islands of, 96.
Lisbon earthquake, 164.
L'Isolino, 187.
Llanos, 123.
Logan stone at Castle Treryn, 76.
Logan stones, 73.
Long-fingered rat, 275.
Lover's Leap, 68.
Lump-fish, 368.
Lybian desert, 131.
Lyd fall, 219.
Lydford, 71.
Lyre bird, 328.
M.
Maccaws, 333, 334.
Madison's Cave, 117.
Madrepores, 158.
Maelstrom, whirlpool of, 220.
Maigre, common, 355.
Mailed-cheek fishes, 351.
Mammalia, 251.
Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, 117.
Mam Tor, 64.
Manatee, 302.
Manatus, 302.
Mareo, 127.
Marsupialian animals, 272.
Menura, 328.
Messenger bird, 321.
Meteoric stones, 236.
Meteors, 232.
Miller's thumb, 352.
Mineral springs, 205.
Mines, 139.
Mirage, 122, 229.
Mississippi, 190.
Missouri, 190.
Mocking-bird of America, 327.
Mock suns, 229.
Mole, 254.
Monkeys, 251.
Monk-fish, 379.
Monsoons, 240.
Monte Nuovo, 95; Rotaro, 95.
Mont Perdu, 59.
Moors of Galloway, 138.
Mount Etna, 83.
Mountains, 3.
Mountain slips, 45.
Mount Ararat, 13; Blanc, 49; Caucasus, 12; Cenis, road over, 57; Epomeo, 95; Gambier, 90; Gilead, 16; Hecla, 86; Hermon, 16; Lebanon, 14; Tabor, 16; Vesuvius, 84; Zion, 16.
Mud lake of Java, 212.
Mulets, grand and petit, 50.
Musk ox, 293.
Mute swan, 345.
N.
Narwhal, 306.
New Zealand, caverns in, 118; volcanic mountain in, 90.
Niagara, Falls of, 213.
Niger, 197.
Nile, 196.
Nocturnal birds of prey, 322.
North American mountains, 33.
O.
Oasis, 133.
Ocean, the, 174.
Ohio River, 190.
Okey Hole, 106.
Optical phenomena, 228.
Oraefa mountain in Iceland, 87.
Organic remains, 150.
Organ mountains of Brazil, 31.
Orinoco, 192.
Ornithorhynchus, 281, 282.
Otter, 267.
Owl family, 322.
Ox tribe, 292.
Ozark mountains, 34.
P.
Pampas, 120.
Parasite found on Coryphaena, 361.
Parhelia, 229.
Parrot tribe, 333.
Peak Cavern, 101.
Peak of Teneriffe, 89.
Peasants of the Landes, 138.
Peewit, 335.
Pelican, 339, 342.
Penella pustolosa, 362.
Pen Park Hole, 107.
Perching birds, 324.
Periodical winds, 240; lakes, 180.
Permanent winds, 239.
Peter Botte's Mountain, 220.
Petrarch's Fountain, 203.
Petrifying spring at Knaresborough, 207.
Phlegraean fields, 96.
Pike, 366.
Pipe-fish, 373.
Pilot-fish, 378.
Plains, 120.
Platax, 357, 358.
Plesiosaurus, 152.
Pogge, 353.
Pogonias, 357.
Polecat, 265.
Polyodon, 377.
Pool's Hole, 104.
Porcupine-fish, 375.
Porpoise, 306.
Potosi, silver mines at, 141.
Prairie dog, 130.
Prairie on fire, 129.
Prairies, 128.
Prebischethor rock, 79.
Procida, 94.
Pterodactyl, 153.
Puffins, 340.
Puna of the Andes, 125.
Pyrenees, 59.
Q.
Quicksilver mines, 142.
Quindiu, pass of, 30.
Quorra, 197.
R.
Rapacious animals, 254.
Raptorial birds, 314.
Rays, 379.
Red Sea, 177.
Remora, 369.
Rhinoceros, 285.
Rhur, 182.
Rivers, 188.
Rocking stones, 73.
Rocks, 66.
Rocky mountains, 33.
Ruminating animals, 288.
Russian steppes, 137.
S.
Sahara, 131.
Sail-fish, 360.
Saint Bernard, Great, 56.
Saint Michael's Mount, 74.
Saint Winifred's Well, 204.
Salinelle, the, 211.
Salmon, 367.
Salt lakes of the Andes, 126; mines, 145.
Sand-hills of Australia, 136.
Sand martin, 329.
Sand storms, 135.
Satin bower-bird, 328.
Scabbard-fish, 360.
Scaling-ladder mountains, 17.
Sea, saltness of, 174; temperature of, 174.
Sea-cat, 351, 363.
Sea-horse, 301, 373.
Seal, 268.
Sea-lamprey, 382.
Sea-locust, 354.
Sea-mew, 342.
Sea-pike, 366.
Sea-porcupine, 375.
Sea-scorpion, 353.
Sea-snail, 369.
Sea-unicorn, 306.
Sea-wolf, 363.
Secretary bird, 321.
Selva, 124.
Senegal, 198.
Serpent-eater, 321.
Serranus, 350.
Shark, 377.
Sheep's Tor, 71.
Shivering mountain, 64.
Shooting chelmon, 358.
Shrike, 324.
Siberian marten, 267.
Silver mines, 139.
Simplon, road over the, 58.
Skate, 379.
Skiddaw, 63.
Sliding avalanches, 43.
Sloth, 277; two-toed, 279.
Snake bird, 345.
Snipe, 337.
Snowdon, 65.
Solfatara, 96.
Sorcerer, 354.
South African deserts, 133.
South American mountains, 24.
South Australia, sand-hills in, 136.
Sparrow-hawk of Africa, 321.
Spectre bat, 253.
Spectre of the Brocken, 62.
Sperm whale, 307.
Spotted blenny, 363.
Springer antelope, 291.
Springs, 203.
Squirrel tribe, 274.
Steller, 304.
Stellerus, 302.
Steppes of Russia, 137; of Tartary, 134.
Sterlet, 377.
Stickleback, 355.
Stilt, 337.
Sting ray, 380.
Stonebyres, 218.
Stone lilies, 158.
Stork, 336.
Storm petrel, 341.
Stromboli, 97.
Sturgeon, 376.
Sucker, 368.
Sucking-fish, 369.
Sulphureous springs, 206.
Sulphur island, 97.
Sun-fish, 376.
Swan, 345.
Sword-fish, 359.
Syren, 186.