MOLLUSCA. 141 



is considered nutritious. They are not eaten in 

 Britain, but in other countries the Cuttlefish is 

 sometimes sought as food. In the Neapolitan 

 market-places, for instance, the arms or tentacles, 

 cut into portions and prepared for cooking, are to 

 be frequently seen. They resemble the lobster in 

 flavour. According to Aristotle, they were esteemed 

 as food by the ancients, and the old writer Athenseus 

 informs us how to prepare a cuttlefish sausage. 



Prout, Bixio, and Kemp have examined the 

 colouring matter produced by these animals, and 

 contained in their ink-bag. It appears from their 

 researches to be very similar in nature to the black 

 pigment of the eye of other animals. It is insoluble in 

 water, but remains for a very long time suspended in 

 the liquid, as we observe with finely pulverized chalk. 

 This principle is known to chemists as Melaine. 



About 12 cwt. of cuttle-bone (of Sepia offici- 

 nalis, L.) arrives yearly in Liverpool ; it is mostly 

 sold to druggists, who use it chiefly for making 

 tooth-powder. The dried contents of the ink-bag 

 is imported from China to Liverpool, at the rate of 

 a few pounds annually. It either arrives in cakes 

 or is made into cakes, called Sepia and Indian ink. 

 Imitation Indian ink is made of cork charcoal, 

 soot, etc., as I have already observed. 



Besides these naked Cephalopoda, there are some 

 which possess very splendid shells : such are the 



