THE KRAKEN. 337 



within its reach by their partiality for the musky odour of 

 this secretion. It may be so, but during the long period 

 that I had these animals under close observation at the 

 Brighton Aquarium, I never witnessed such an incident. 

 I believe that the emission of the ink is a symptom 

 of fear, and is only employed as a means of conceal- 

 ment from a suspected enemy. I have found, that 

 when first taken, the Sepia, of all its kind, is the most 

 sensitively timid. Its keen, unwinking eye watches for 

 and perceives the slightest movement of its captor ; and if 

 even most cautiously looked at from above, its ink is 

 belched forth in eddying volumes, rolling over and over 

 like the smoke which follows the discharge of a great gun 

 from a ship's port, and mixes with marvellous rapidity with 

 the surrounding water. But, like all of its class, the Sepia 

 is very intelligent. It soon learns to discriminate between 

 friend and foe, and ultimately becomes very tame, and 

 ceases to shoot its ink, unless it be teased and excited. By 

 means of the communication between the ink-bag and the 

 locomotor tube, it happens that when the ink is ejected, 

 a stream of water is forcibly emitted with it, and thus the 

 very effort for escape serves the double purpose of pro- 

 pelling the creature away from danger, and discolouring 

 the water in which it moves. Oppian has well described 



this 



" The endangered cuttle thus evades his fears, 



And native hoards of fluids safely wears. 



A pitchy ink peculiar glands supply 



Whose shades the sharpest beam of light defy. 



Pursued, he bids the sable fountains flow, 



And, wrapt in clouds, eludes the impending foe. 



The fish retreats unseen, while self-born night 



With pious shade befriends her parent's flight." 



Professor Owen has remarked that the ejection of the 



VOL. III. H. Z 



