MOLLUSCA. 



the first order of Mollusca, that of Cephalo- 

 poda, we meet with many animals both 

 curious and useful. These singular creatures, 

 among which the common Cuttlefish may be 

 taken as an example, derive their name, Cepha- 

 lopoda, from the fact that their feet seem to be 

 placed upon their head. Their body is fleshy and 

 soft, generally somewhat cylindrical; their head is 

 distinct from the body, and is furnished with par- 

 ticularly large eyes ; their mouth, placed at the top 

 of the head, has two strong horny mandibles some- 

 thing like the beak of a parrot, and is surrounded 

 by long fleshy tentacles or arms (often termed feet], 

 which are almost always provided with numerous 

 suckers, by means of which the animal grasps 

 tightly anything that comes in its way. Indeed, so 

 firmly can the Cephalopoda adhere to foreign bodies 

 by means of these suckers, that it is easier to tear 

 away the arm or tentacle than to release it from its 

 grasp ; but the animal, on the contrary, can release 



