Molluscs 149 



found washed up on every sandy beach 

 are largely used for bait and in many 

 countries for human food. The " shell/' 

 finely powdered, forms an important 

 ingredient in many medicines, tooth- 

 powders and ointments, whilst the artist's 

 sepia is obtained from a species common 

 in Italian waters. Though so formid- 

 able, cuttle-fish have many foes besides 

 man. Fish and sea birds attack them, 

 and even the giant specimens of the 

 North Atlantic fall victims to whales, 

 the Cachalot being especially appreciative 

 of such a diet. Whales are frequently 

 captured with wounds inflicted by the 

 suckers of giant cuttle-fish evidence of 

 terrific conflicts in some ocean waste. 

 Ambergris, that waxy compound, so 

 valued in the manufacture of perfumes, 

 commanding as much as four pounds per 

 ounce, consists largely of cuttle-fish beaks, 

 and is the outcome of cetacean digestion. 

 The majority of cuttle-fish live upon fish, 



