278 THE INHABITANTS OF THE SEA. 
constitutes now, as in ancient times, a valuable part of the food 
of the poor. “One of the most striking spectacles,” says 
Edward Forbes, “ is to see at night on the shores of the A%gean 
the numerous torches glancing along the shores, and reflected 
by the still and clear sea, borne by poor fishermen, paddling as 
silently as possible over the rocky shallows in search of the 
cuttle-fish, which, when seen lying beneath the water in wait for 
his prey, they dexterously spear, ere the creature has time to 
dart with the rapidity of an arrow from the weapon about to 
transfix his soft but firm body.” 
Animals exposed to the attacks of so many enemies must 
necessarily multiply in av analogous ratio. Their numerous 
eggs are generally brought forth in the spring. in the species 
inhabiting the high seas, they float freely on the surface, 
carried along by the currents and winds, and form large gela- 
tinous bunches or cylindrical rolls, sometimes as large as a 
man’s leg. 
The eggs of the littoral cephalopods appear in the form of 
dark-coloured, roundish or spindle-shaped bodies, of the size and 
colour of grapes, and hanging together in clusters. They are 
soft to the touch, witha tough skin, 
resembling india-rubber; one end 
is attenuated into a sort of point 
or nipple, and the other prolonged 
into a pedicle, which coils round 
seaweed ur other floating objects, 
and serves to fix the berry-like 
bag in its place. At an early stage 
these “sea-grapes,” as they are 
called by the fishermen, contain a 
white yolk enclosed in a clear albu- 
men, and nearer maturity the young 
cuttle-fish may be found within in 
various stages of formation, until 
finally, hatched by the heat of the 
sun, it emerges from the husk per- 
Ova ofthe GuLlecnene fectly formed, and launches forth 
into the water. 
Some species of cephalopods are only about the size of a finger, 
while others attain an astonishing size. Banks and Solander, in 
