270 THE COURTSHIP OF ANIMALS 



of a " Courtship " takes place. The majority of the 

 species, also, possess the most extraordinary powers of 

 changing their coloration, especially during moments 

 of great excitement. The magnificence of the hues which 

 succeed one another, like a series of variegated blushes 

 suffusing the whole body, may be one of the weapons in 

 the armoury of Cuttle-fish love-making. In how far 

 the " courtship " of the Cuttle-fish resembles that of 

 terrestrial animals, however, is a matter on which at 

 present nothing is really known. That even the com- 

 paratively sedentary species, like the Octopus, seize 

 upon and hold territory is very improbable, for there is 

 no need of such landed estates, inasmuch as the offspring 

 are not tended and fed by the parents — this would indeed 

 be a laborious task in the case of some of the " Squids " 

 which lay between thirty thousand and forty thousand 

 eggs ! Having regard to the fact that the records of the 

 reproductive habits of the Octopus tribe date back to the 

 time of Aristotle, more than two thousand two hundred 

 years ago — for he first drew attention to the hectocotylized 

 arm — it is curious that so little has been gleaned during 

 this vast space of time. 



There are facts in regard to the sexual relationships of 

 some of the Snails that are in nowise less remarkable 

 than those just related of the Octopus tribe. Unlike the 

 Octopuses, the Snails are hermaphrodite, nevertheless 

 sexual congress takes place as with unisexual species : the 

 eggs of the one being fertilized by the spermatozoa of the 

 other. During this process the orgasm of the sexual 

 act appears to be brought about by stabbing one another 

 by means of a little dart formed of carbonate of lime, 

 the dart burying itself in the flesh and apparently pro- 

 moting a pleasurable, tingling sensation in the course 



