270 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOS SIP. 



CHAPTERS ON CUTTLES. 



No. 1. 



Br W. H. Booth. 



ONE of the first sights likely to attract the eye 

 of a stranger walking along any of our 

 metropolitan thoroughfares would probably be the 

 large placards bearing a representation of a curious- 

 looking creature with many arms and great staring 

 eyes, which were to be seen nearly everywhere a few 

 months ago. Most of us have doubtless paid a visit 

 to these " monsters of the deep " in person ; but 

 certainly those who have not yet done so, and have 

 any opportunities whatsoever, should not neglect to 

 at once make a pilgrimage to their abode. The late 

 erection of two large marine aquaria so accessible 

 from all parts as they are, the one at Brighton, the 

 other at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, where the 

 varied forms which tenant the seas of our British 

 coast may be seen and studied, has brought before 

 our eyes strange beings, of whose existence the 

 majority of us had been in total ignorance. Of all 

 the many creatures which astonish the eye and ex- 

 cite the curiosity of the observer in these aquaria, 

 noue are more generally tlie subject of interest than 

 the Cuttles. Their eccentric motions, crawling 

 about as they do over the rocks, and occasionally, 

 condescending to gratify the eyes of the beholders 

 by displaying their mode of swimming, or rather 

 darting, about in the clear water, furnishes an ever- 

 changing subject of interest to all. The Octopus in 

 the aquarium is a most brazen-faced monster, not 

 seeming to be in the least disconcerted or otherwise 

 affected by the presence of anybody, whereas some 

 other inmates are just the opposite, being so ex- 

 tremely shy and bashfal that they have to be sup- 

 plied with strictly private apartments, there only 

 visible to the select few. Perhaps, as so much in- 

 terest is at present centred on these animals, a few 

 words on their general forms and divisions may be 

 of general interest to the reader of Science- 

 .GossiP. Many people are rather misty in their 

 views of the relations of the Octopus, aud this un- 

 certainty has been rendered still more perplexing 

 by a confusion of names. It may be as well to state 

 at the commencement, that under the term "Cuttles" 

 are included a great many different animals. Al- 

 though nothing seems so dry as classification, yet, 

 even at the risk of deterring my readers by the long 

 names which our savans apply to their divisions, I 

 must endeavour to give a slight sketch of those main 

 sections with which we shall have to deal. Cuttles, 

 or, to give them their scientific name. Cephalopoda, a 

 name signifying " head-footed," are a class of the 

 MoUusca. This is a fact which is rendered quite 

 necessary to notice, from the great dissimilarity ex- 

 isting between the Cuttles and most other mollusks. 

 There are certain characteristics common to all 



Cuttles, which it will be as well to mention. The 

 most striking feature is undoubtedly the long arms 

 or feet, which seem to be arranged in a circle around 

 the head; hence the scientific name Cephalopoda. 

 These appear to serve the double purpose of feet 

 and arms, but it is in their use as arms that their 

 peculiarity is most apparent. Cuttles, however, are 

 not dependent on their feet for a means of locomo- 

 tion, for that which they usually adopt is found in 

 another member. If we closely observe an Octopus, 

 we shall see a small sort of funnel proceeding from 

 the body: this exactly corresponds with the siphon 

 of the Bivalves, and is used by the animal in ena- 

 bling it to swim. This funnel is to be found in all 

 Cuttles ; but some have also sets of fins, by using 

 which they are able to progress rapidly through the 

 water. 



To understand the manner in which Cuttles pro- 

 gress by means of the funnel, we must examine a 

 little more closely into their structure. We find 

 then, after a little research, that they breathe water 

 pretty much as we breathe air, and that it is the 

 forcible expulsion of the water from the hramhim, 

 or gills, that gives them the power of swimming. 

 A flow of water is continually passing through the 

 gills ; but this would not move the animal from its 

 position. The gills are furnished with cavities 

 capable of containing a large quantity of water, 

 which, when compressed by muscles, rushes forth 

 from the funnel, senduig the animal along with great 

 speed. Thus the Cuttles, when progressing after 

 this fashion, go tail foremost, and carry their arms 

 in a neat tapering bundle behind them. It is 

 manifest that after the water contained in the bran- 

 chial cavity has all been expelled, the animal must 

 come to a dead stop : this it does, and appears more 

 as if darting than swimming. The long sinuous 

 arms, with their dreadful rows of suckers, are very 

 effective in procuring food ; some species, besides 

 the suckers, are armed with hooks, which, when 

 plunged into the flesh of their victims, have a terribly 

 strong hold : but of these anon. Cuttles exist in 

 countless numbers over the whole ocean. Some 

 frequent the coasts, others the high seas, and others 

 make annual migrations from place to place. With 

 the exception of the Octopus, they are mostly gre- 

 garious and love the society of their kind ; but being 

 for the greater part nocturnal in their habits, are 

 not so frequently seen as might be expected from 

 their great numbers. They multiply at a prodigious 

 rate, and are great pests to fishermen, seizing hold 

 of the fish and devouring them with their horny 

 jaws. The head is very loosely fastened on to the 

 body, so as to allow more scope for the use of the 

 arms ; indeed a dead cuttle looks as if its head aud 

 arms were only joined on to the body by a loose 

 ligament. There is, of course, no bone proper to be 

 found in them ; but the brain is protected by a gristly 

 cartilaginous box, and sometimes a sort of incipient 



