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BY THE DEEP SEA. 



quickly disappear. The tentacles number eight in some 

 species, ten in others, and they are studded with a great 

 number of suckers, which appear to be set to work almost 

 automatically on coming into contact with any animal sub- 

 stance, to which they adhere so perfectly that, unless the will 

 of the animal interposes to release their hold, it is easier to 

 tear off the tentacle from the cuttle's body than to separate it 

 from its victim. 



The Cuttles cannot strictly be called shore creatures, but 

 they are very active, and come into every zone, the littoral as 



well as others ; and though we are not very likely to come 

 across the animal itself, we are sure to find Cuttle-" bones " 

 upon the beach, and bunches of their eggs. In our investiga- 

 tions of the rocks at low water, we may perchance come across 

 a specimen of the Octopus, hiding in its hole under the weeds, 

 or beneath a big stone we have just overturned. Occasionally, 

 too, it may be found in a pool that is covered by a fathom or 

 so of water at ordinary low tides. On being discovered, it 



