352 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



When a crustacean casts a limb from its junction with the body, it 

 is after a time reproduced ; if injured below this point, it has no re- 

 cuperative power. But our " devil-fish," which really seems favored 

 beyond its deserts, will reproduce any injured portion of its arms, at 

 whatever point they may have been severed ; of the numerous speci- 

 mens which have been scientifically examined, many showed that one, 

 two, or more arms have been either repaired or reproduced ; and some 

 of the female specimens have shown a loss of the whole eight arms, 

 but all more or less restored. 



Fig. 7. — Aegonaut witu the Shell. 



Another kind of exuviae observed with the octopods is the outer 

 skin of their long limbs, which they not infrequently shed. These 

 cast-off skins float upon the water, and are one of the indications which 

 lead to the discovery of their retreats. When the outer skin becomes 

 too tight for the growing animal, or is worn too smooth by frequent 

 contact with the rocks, the creature may be seen rubbing its arms 

 against each otiier as if they were undergoing a scrubbing or cleansing 

 process, and soon these thin, filmy skins may be seen floating away on 

 the surface of the water. 



At certain periods there appears in the male octopus what is called 

 the hectocotylus development in one of the arms. When this gentle- 

 man would a-wooing go, as Mr. Lee says in his valuable little book on 

 this subject, and " he ofi"ers his hand in marriage to a lady octopus, she 

 accepts it most literally, Jceeps it, and walks away with it ; for this 

 sino^ular outgrowth is detached from the arm of the suitor, and becomes 

 a separate living creature," specimens of which have been preserved in 

 the Museum of Natural History in Paris. This hectocotylized arm is 

 afterward reproduced in the male. 



It is surprising with what care the female watches over the devel- 

 opment of the eggs. Having selected a snug retreat in the rocks, she 

 will barricade it by dragging to the entrance other portions of rock, or 

 perhaps a pile of oysters — anything out of which she can make a strong 

 breastwork or line of defense ; and then she sits ~*on guard ready to 

 attack any intruder, even though it be her own mate. The eggs when 

 first laid are about the size of grains of rice, and are arranged upon a 



