T28 MODERN SEA FISHING 



death, draw their prey under the horrible beak, and press it 

 against the glutinous mass which forms the body. The cold, 

 slimy grasp paralyses the victim with terror, and the powerful 

 mandibles rend and devour.' 



The common cuttle of British waters (Sepia officinalis] 

 is, apart from its shape, a beautiful creature with zebra-like 

 markings, and of many colours rich brown, white, green, and 

 rose. It is found all round our coasts, but it is more common 

 in the south than in the north. It does not shun the light of 

 day like the octopus in fact, both it and the squid can be 

 attracted at night by lanterns. Mr. Henry Lee thus charmingly 

 describes it in his ' Aquarium Notes ' : ' Poised near the surface 

 of the water, like a hawk in the air, the sepia moves gently to 

 and fro in its tank by graceful undulations of its lateral fins, an 

 exquisite play of colour taking place over its beautifully barred 

 and mottled back. When thus tranquil, its eight pedal arms 

 are usually brought close together, and droop in front of its 

 head, like the trunk of an elephant shortened, its two longer 

 tentacular arms being coiled up within the others unseen. Only 

 when some small fish is given to it as food is its facility of rapid 

 motion displayed. Then, quickly as a kingfisher darts upon a 

 minnow, it pounces on its prey, enfolds it in its fatal embrace, 

 and retires to a recess of its abode to tear it piecemeal with its 

 horny beak, and rend it into minutest shreds with its jagged 

 tongue. In shallow water, however, it will often rest for hours 

 on the bottom, after a heavy meal, looking much like a sleepy 

 tortoise. The cuttle-fishes are so voracious that fishermen 

 regard them as unwelcome visitors. Some localities on our own 

 coast are occasionally so infested by them that the drift netting 

 has to be abandoned, in consequence of their devouring the 

 fish, or rendering them unsaleable by tearing them with their 

 beaks as they hang in the meshes.' 



On the whole, the cuttle is rather a nuisance in the aquarium, 



