218 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Oct. 1, 1869. 



with from six to twenty arms, which arrange them- 

 selves like a star-flower : through the stem we see 

 the circulation of the sap or blood, or -whatever it 

 may be, which curiously enough sometimes runs 

 from the flower to the stem, and sometimes vice 

 versa. Often the branches are covered with diatoms 

 of various sorts, attached end to end, which give it a 

 lovely appearance. Vorticellidse with ciliary motion 

 cause small circular currents, and little shrimp-like 

 animals dash across, and give additional life to the 

 picture. With a good one-inch object-glass, and 

 with the spotted lens, we may obtain a sight the 

 beauty of which I have rarely seen surpassed. 



The stems of the polypes with the diatoms in situ 

 are easily prepared as permanent objects, and are a 

 desirable addition to the cabinet. C. B. 



A CHAPTER ON CUTTLE-PISHES * 

 By Lucie L. Hartt. 



Fig. 167. Octopus vulgaris. 



IT was during my first visit to Brazil that one 

 day, while busily engaged in examining a reef 

 at a little town on the coast, called Guarapary, my 

 eye fell on an object in a shallow tide-pool, packed 

 away in the crevice of the reef, which excited my 

 curiosity. I could see nothing but a pair of very 

 bright eyes ; but concluding that the eyes had an 

 owner, I determined very rashly to secure him. I 

 had been handling corals, and seemed to have for- 

 gotten that all the inhabitants of the sea are not 

 harmless. I put my hand down very quietly, so as 

 not to ruffle the water, when suddenly, to my sur- 

 prise, it was seized with a pressure far too ardent 

 to be agreeable, and I was held fast. I tugged 

 hard to get away ; but this uncivil individual, who- 

 ever he was, evidently had as strong a hold on the 

 rocks as he had on my hand, and was not easily to 



* The woodcuts illustrating this paper are from Figuier's 

 " Ocean World," kindly lent by the publishers, Messrs. Chap- 

 man & Hall. 



be persuaded to let go of either. At last, however, 

 he became convinced that he must choose between 

 us, and so let go his hold upon the rocks, and I 

 found clinging to my right hand, by his long arms, 

 a large octopod cuttle-fish, resembling the one 

 figured at the head of this article, and I began to 

 suspect that I had caught a Tartar. His long 

 arms were wound around my hand, and these arms, 

 by the way, were covered with rows of suckers, 

 somewhat like those with which boys lift stones, 

 and escape from them was almost impossible. I 

 knew that this fellow's sucking propensities were 

 not his worst ones, for these cuttle-fishes are 

 furnished with sharp jaws, and they know how to 

 use them too, so I attempted to get rid of him. 

 But the rascal, disengaging one slimy arm, wound 

 it about my left hand also, and I was a helpless 

 prisoner. In vain I struggled to free myself, — he 

 only clasped me the tighter. In vain I shouted to 

 my companion, — he had wandered out of hearing. 

 I was momentarily expecting to be bitten, when 

 the "bicho" suddenly changed his mind. I was 

 never able to discover whether he was smitten with 

 remorse and retired with amiable intentions, or 

 whether he only yielded to the force of circum- 

 stances. At any rate, he suddenly relinquished his 

 hold upon my hands and dropped to the sand. 

 Then, raising himself on his long slimy arms, he 

 stalked away towards the water, making such a 

 comical figure that in spite of my fright I indulged 

 in a hearty laugh. He looked like a huge and a 

 very tipsy spider, staggering away on his exceed- 

 ingly long legs. 



The cuttle-fish belongs to the Mollusks, a branch 

 of the animal kingdom distinguished for its mem- 

 bers being built on the plan of a sac, and to which 

 Mr. Hyatt has applied the more appropriate name 

 of Saccata. The cuttle-fishes are distinguished 

 from all the other Mollusks, such as snails, clams, 

 &c, by having a large head, a pair of large eyes, 

 and a mouth furnished with a pair of jaws, around 

 which are arranged in a circle eight or ten arms 

 furnished with suckers. 



In the common cuttle-fish or squid of our coast, 

 the body, which is long and narrow, is wrapped in 

 a muscular cloak or mantle, like a bag fitting 

 tightly to the back, but loose in front. It is closed 

 up to the neck, where it is open like a loosely- 

 fitting overcoat, buttoned up to the throat. 

 Attached to its throat, by the middle, is a short 

 tube, open at both ends. This tube, or siphon as it 

 is called, is fastened to its throat, and can be moved 

 about in any direction. 



The animal breathes by means of gills, which are 

 attached to the front of the body inside the cloak, 

 and look like the ruffles of a shirt-bosom. By 

 means of these gills the air contained in the water 

 is breathed, and they answer the same purpose for 

 the cuttle-fish that our lungs do for us. 



