LECTURE X. 135 



the removal of the animal ; a kind of stinging or 

 urtication remaining for many hours, and long af- 

 ter this, a troublesome irritation and itching. 



This species arrives at a very large size, being 

 often seen so large that the body equals the size 

 of a gourd, while the arms measure from three to 

 four feet in length, and from nine to twelve in cir- 

 cumference when spread out in the form of a star, 

 which is a posture in which the animal frequently 

 places them. It resides in the deep channels 

 formed by large rocks, and is generally seen in 

 pairs. The male is said to wander about in quest 

 of prey to a certain distance from its recess, while 

 the female rarely wanders from it. The eggs of 

 the Eight- Armed Cuttle-Fish are extremely numer- 

 ous, and are disposed in a kind of grape-like clus- 

 ter : they are of a glassy transparency, so that the 

 young animal, as in those of the Calamary, may be 

 seen in them long before the time of its exclusion. 



The Sepiae or Cuttle-Fish in general, were 

 often called by the ancients by the title of Polypi, 

 on account of their numerous limbs : they also 

 possess, like the Polypi of modern Natural His- 

 tory, a considerable degree of reproductive power ; 



