226 NATURAL HISTORY OF OUR SHORES 



These clusters bear a curious resemblance to a bunch of 

 the old fashioned dip candles, in miniature "Christmas- 

 tree " size. When the eggs are on the point of hatching 

 they furnish interesting objects of study. 



The little ones, on emerging, are about an eighth of an 

 inch in length, and are not of the form of the parent, but 



Fig. 97. Beak of Sepia. Natural size 



are just like little Sepiolas. Each is already furnished 

 with a little bag of ink, for defensive purposes. 



The short squid or cuttle (Sepia officinalis), the white, 

 highly calcareous shells of which are familiar objects on the 

 sands, and which, when powdered, form the Os SepicB of the 

 druggists' shops, are occasionally, not often, found in pools 

 between tide-marks. 



Unlike the octopus, whose chief menu consists of crabs 

 and molluscs, all the decapod cephalopods are fish feeders. 

 The beak, which is shown in the photo (Fig. 97), has a 

 peculiar action, readily understood by considering the figure 



