CEPHALOPODS. 479 



himself with pustules ; this the cuttle-fish does : it not only changes 

 colour, but it covers itself with little warts. " Observe a cuttle in a 

 pool of water," says d'Orbigny, "as it walks round its retreat it is 

 smooth, and of a very pale colour. Attempt to seize it, and it quickly 

 assumes a deeper tint, and its body becomes covered on the instant 

 \vith warts and excrescences, which remain there until its confidence 

 is entirely restored." 



The following fact is abbreviated from the " Natural History and 

 Fishery of the Sperm Whale/' Mr. Beale had been searching for 

 shells among the rocks in Bonin Island, and was much astonished to 

 see at his feet a most extraordinary-looking animal, crawling back 

 towards the surf which it had just left. It was creeping on its eight 

 legs, which, from their soft and flexible nature, bent considerably 

 under the weight of its body, so that it was just lifted by an effort 

 above the rocks. It appeared much alarmed, and made every 

 attempt to escape. Mr. Beale endeavoured to stop it by putting his 

 foot on one of its tentacles, but it liberated itself several times in spite 

 of all his efforts. He then laid hold of one of the tentacles with his 

 hand, and held it firmly, and the limb appeared as if it would be torn 

 asunder in the struggle. To terminate the contest, he gave it a 

 powerful jerk ; it resisted the effort successfully, but the moment after 

 the enraged animal lifted a head with large projecting eyes, and 

 loosing its hold of the rocks, suddenly sprang upon Mr. Beale's arm, 

 which had been previously bared to the shoulder, and clung to it 

 with its suckers, while it endeavoured to get the beak, which he could 

 now see between the tentacles, in a position to bite him. Mr. Beale 

 describes its cold slimy grasp as extremely sickening, and he loudly 

 called to his friend, who was also searching for shells, to come to 

 his assistance. They hastened to the boat, and he was released by 

 killing his tormentor with a boat-knife, when the arms were disen- 

 gaged bit by bit. Mr. Beale states that this Cephalopod must have 

 measured across its expanded arms about four feet, while its body 

 was not bigger than a large hand clenched. It was the species called 

 the rock-squid by whalers. 



The Spirulida. This family contains but a single genus, Spirula, 

 and but one or two perfect specimens of the perfect animal of S.peronii 

 have been found. The shell is very common, and is found scattered 

 by thousands on the shores of New Zealand. The shell is entirely 

 nacreous-discoidal ; the whorls are separate, and the last chamber is 

 not larger in proportion than the rest. 



The Sepiadce have eight arms rising from the crown of the head, 

 armed with four rows of suckers, two long slender arms with broadly- 



