Very often, after a violent storm, you may find a dead dog-fish lying upon the shore; and even if you have never seen one of these creatures before you can tell at once what it is, because its skin is so rough that it feels exactly like a piece of sand-paper. So this skin is often used for covering the handles of swords, in order to give a firm grip; and sometimes narrow strips of it are fastened to the sides of boxes of lucifer matches.