142 JUNE. 



diately resented the incarceration by beginning to pour 

 out from beneath the lobes of the mantle a thin stream 

 of fluid of the most royal purple hue, which freely 

 diffused itself through the water. And see ! it is still 

 copiously exuding ; and the whole contents of the bottle 

 are now fast becoming of so fine and rich a tinge, as 

 already to veil the form of the animal. Attempts have 

 been made to employ this secretion in the arts ; but 

 the hue is fleeting. According to Cuvier, it assumes 

 in drying the beautiful deep hue of the flower known 

 as the sweet scabious, and remains long unaltered by 

 exposure to the air. The purple tint is readily trans- 

 ferred to spirit, when the animal is immersed in it; 

 the tincture retains the colour for a while, but ultimately 

 becomes of a deep clear port-wine tint. Linen, dyed 

 with the fluid, soon fades to a. dingy brown. 



It is a curious coincidence that this mollusk possesses 

 a more recondite analogy with herbivorous mammalia, 

 than a fleeting resemblance of form. Professor Grant 

 has shown that it has three stomachs, like the rumi- 

 nants. First, a short narrow gullet dilates into a large 

 membranous crop ; a curved bag, which is generally 

 filled with pieces of coarse sea- weed. This large crop 

 or paunch occupies the right side of the body, and opens 

 laterally into the middle stomach, which is the smallest 

 of all, and performs the part of the gizzard. Its coats 



