SEPIA. 1S9 



closely corrugated, with an indistinct central ridge and a slight 

 diverging furrow on either side of it ; excavated posterior por- 

 tion of the lower side (that showing the successive trausverse 

 growth layers) less than half the length of the shell, so that the 

 highest part of the ventral surface is posterior to the middle of 

 the total length of the shell. 



Length, 6 to 8 inches. When irritated, tlie skin of the animal 



becomes tuberculate. 



European Seas. 



According to Veran^', this animal prefers rocky localities, 

 where it is fished by means of a dredge called a balancelle, and 

 is also taken at night with the trident. During the month of 

 March the fishermen use a living female Cuttle fastened to a 

 rope, or an imitation of one formed of wood and made attract- 

 ive to the male sex by being ornamented by bits of glass : this 

 latter enveiglement is called by the Sicilians a Fumedda, and 

 fishing with either of them is very productive and amusing, 

 especially on a moonlight night. These animals may weigh 

 several pounds ; their flesh is much esteemed and abounds in the 

 Italian markets at all seasons of the 3^ear. Out of the water the 

 Sepia dies quickly, with violent efforts. At Rome the pigment 

 Sepia is still manufactured from the ink of this animal. The 

 chalky thickening of the shell is used as a dentifrice,* and also 

 for modeling metallic objects, its surface receiving an exceed- 

 ingly accurate impression. 



The body of the male is always more oval than that of the 

 female, and its fins are distinguished by a white line of border. 



Sepia officinalis (says Aucapitaine) is esteemed everywhere 

 (in Algiers) as food, and is savory as well as sufficiently delicate. 

 It would be as easy as useful to multiply these cephalopods in 

 the oyster-pares established on our coasts. A great quantity of 

 the eggs of this mollusk are the prey of crustaceans, and the 

 scarcely hatched young are gathei^ed by fishermen for bait. I 

 have seen thousands of these young sepias carried to the 

 Algerian market, which, two or three months later would have 

 had a value of 5 to 15 centimes each. They would be a useful 



* This manufacture is extensively pursued in Liverpool ; as much as 12 

 cwt. of cuttle-bone arriving at one time for this purpose. 



