232 



CUTTLE-FISH, MOLLUSCA, ETC. 



great a favourite, either with the public or the ma- 

 nagers, on account of the readiness with which it 

 discharges the contents of the ink-bag, so as to dis- 

 colour the water of the tank. This species is a 

 decapod, not an octopod that is, possesses ten feet, 

 of which two are long and retractile, instead of eight, 

 as in the octopus. The so-called internal "bone" of 

 the sepia is a common object along our coasts, where 



Fig. 161. 



Fig. 162. 



Sepiestaire (ground plan). 

 (Magnified.) 



,1111 



1111 1 



Sepiostaire (vertical section). 

 (Magnified.) 



its whiteness soon attracts attention. Of course in 

 this condition it represents a once living animal, just 

 like any other skeleton does. These "bones" are 

 termed " sepiostaire," and are collected and ground up 

 for tooth-powder, the calcareous matter retaining its 

 crystalline structure to the smallest particle, and thus 

 being an admirable dentifrice. Slices of the sepio- 

 staire, both vertically and horizontally, make beautiful 

 objects for the microscope, and show the mode in 



