246 EDIBLE BRITISH AIOLLUSCA. 



a time;* and Pliny says that the ashes of calcined 

 shells of the Sepia were used for extracting* pointed 

 weapons which had pierced the flesh. -f- 



In Germany it is called the Blackfisch, or Tiutenfisch, 

 and in Spain Chocos, Rellenas, Castanuelas, and Sipia ; 

 and the Manx name for it is Eeast-yn-vraain-olleij. 



Cuttle-fishes are very common in the Mediterranean, 

 and are highly prized by the Neapolitans. In Corfu 

 both the Septia and Octopus are considered excellent 

 food, and are regarded as flesh. J The modern Greeks 

 also make Sepiadce, and especially the Octopodin, a 

 principal article of food; they dry them in great 

 quantities, and store them away for use to be boiled 

 or fried. Mr. R. A. Arnold mentions having seen both 

 kinds for sale in the markets at Athens, and he adds, 

 that these nondescripts fulfil every condition of the 

 Greek Lent, and are accordingly much eaten by pious 

 women. While on board the steamer, on the way to 

 Eubcea, it happened to be Good Friday, and Mr. Arnold 

 inquired of the steward what could be had for break- 

 fast, he replied in Greek, " Fasting food," and the first 

 dish was composed of polypus, crawfish, and vegetables, 

 mingled together and floating in oil. This was followed 

 by a dish of fried Sepia.§ Several kinds of Cephalo- 

 poda are eaten abroad. The Octopus vulgaris is eaten 

 when young and small at Nice, where it is much more 

 plentiful in the market than at Genoa ; and if it weighs 

 less than a pound, and is still tender, it is much 

 esteemed. Those who purchase it generally hammer 



* Phipson's ' Utilization of Minute Life.' 



t Pliny ' Nat. Hist.' vol. vi. bk. xxxii. c. 43. 



X ' The Ionian Islands,' by Professor Austed. 



§ ' From the Levant, the Black Sea, and the Danube,' vol. i. p. 79. 



