124 NEW SOUTH WALES 



receives the greater part of the Tunisian supplies, which are principally 

 sold in the Greek markets. Portugal also largely competes with Tunis 

 in supplying this trade. 



Professor Fortes says : — " When well beaten to render the flesh tender 

 before being dressed, and then cut up into morsels and served in a 

 savoury brown stew, they make a dish by no means to be despised, 

 excellent in both substance and flavour. A modern Lycian dinner, in 

 which stewed cuttle-fish formed the first and roast porcupine the second 

 course, would scarcely fail to be relished by an unprejudiced epicure in 

 seai'ch of novelty."* Mr. Lee says that they may also be eaten plainly 

 boiled and served with egg sauce. The flavour is not unlike that of the 

 skate or the soft part of the scallop. 



More than a hundred millions of cod are caught annually with cuttle- 

 fish as bait. f This bait is used in August and September, for they then 

 come into the fishing-ground in abundance. They are caught by means 

 of a jigger or conical piece of lead, round the base of which eight or ten 

 hooks are inserted. The fishermen go out in punts "squid-jigging" of 

 an evening to catch the bait required for the next day's fishing. "Whilst 

 they fish they shout and make a great noise, for some unknown reason. 

 All parts of the squid are used as bait, but they sometimes are eaten 

 by the fishermen, who say that they are remarkably sweet and excellent 

 when fried. The eyes of the cephalopods are very solid, formed of two 

 double concave lenses, separated by a groove. The two halves easily 

 separate, and exhibit internally a series of concentric coats of beautiful 

 nacreous aspect. They are used as ornaments in Italy, and sold as 

 pearls in the Sandwich Islands. The ink which is ejected by squids has 

 been used as a pigment from classical times. At present in London 

 thousands of "ink-bags" are manufactured into "sepia" by artists' 

 colourmen. The fishermen of some of the English northern counties, 

 when cleaning cuttle-fish for bait, dry the ink-bags and their contents, 

 and sell them to the colour-manufacturers. 



*" Travels in Lycia," by Spratt and Forbes. 

 t Ellin., New Phil. Jour., 1826, p. 32. 



