able black spots. One kind of this fish is green and 6poi:ted in 

 rhe same manner with the black; perhaps it is of a different sex 

 only. He adds — 'Hhe inhabitants of the Bahamas will eat only 

 the green sort; they reject the black as poisonous. It is custom- 

 ary for this fish, as they lie lurking among the hollow rocks and 

 corals, to bite peoples' legn that are exposed to them, though the 

 bite is of no other ill consequence than fetching blood." 



The Mutton fish, he also states, for the excellence of its taste, 

 is in greater demand than any other at the Bahama islands. It 

 has five fins; a long spiny one on its back, like that of the perch, 

 of an amber color. The upper part of its head is a dusky black; 

 the irides of the eye are a bright red; the upper part of the back 

 is a dark reddish brown, the red brightening gradually to the 

 portion below, which is white, faintly traced with red. The gills 

 are shaded partly with purple and red. 



The common Cuttlefish, [Loligo special,) is found in the 

 vicinity of Nassau. It has two large prominent eyes of a greenish 

 hue — one upon each side of its head; eight arms project out from 

 its head and surround its mouth. These arras have on their 

 inner sides rows of suckers in the form of muscular cup-like discs 

 with serrated edges, with which the animal can strongly fasten 

 itself to any living or inanimate object within its reach. It is 

 also armed with two long tentacles which push out from the head 

 and resemble the arms, but exceed them in length. At the end 

 of each tentacle or long arm there is a sort of fingerloss hand, 

 armed also with suckers. This curious creature has a sack in 

 which it secretes a brown or black fluid, which contains a large 

 amount of a carbonaceous pigment, (".sej!?ia,") and various min- 

 eral salts. When pursued by an enemy, this colored fluid is dis- 

 charged in jets, and by means of its color, and perhaps by reason 

 of its offensive character, it aids the cuttle fish in escaping from 

 or contending with enemies who are not prepared for this kind 



