194 THE SQUID. 



and the whole of them have a number of circular tubercles, by 

 help of which it clings to and sucks into its throat any unfor- 

 tunate fish it may succeed in capturing, and proceeds to devour 

 it by help of a horny, parrot-like beak placed at the entrance 

 thereof. In its inside is a small bag filled with an ink-like 

 liquid, which is its means of defence when attacked ; this it 

 vomits forth in a dark cloud, and blackens the water for some 

 feet around it. This liquid was used for writing by the 

 ancients, and it is believed to form the chief ingredient in the 

 Indian ink used by artists, as a very large kind is found in the 

 Eastern seas. Clean these fish by pulling off the' head, and 

 splitting them sideways, remove the skin, backbone, and ink- 

 bag, and wash them in salt water. They should be cleaned as 

 soon as dead, and if put in a cool place will keep a day or two ; 

 sometimes they are salted, but are certainly not as good as 

 fresh. Sausages were made from them by the Greeks and 

 Romans, and they are eaten at the present day in some parts 

 of the kingdom and on the Continent. 



THE SQUID. 



(Loligo tndgaris.} 



This kind is much more numerous than the first named, 

 and they are found in large shoals. The body is of a some- 

 what cylindrical shape, semi-transparent, and of a greenish hue 

 whilst alive, changing to speckled brown, and the bone long, 

 thin,, and more transparent than thinly-scraped horn, but 

 equably flexible. From the resemblance of this bone to a 

 quill-pen, the Squid has been called the pen-and-ink fish, the 

 ink being contained in a bag in the interior of the body. 



It is better bait than the large Cuttle for Conger, Cod, or Bass, 

 as it is not so hard and quite as tough. The Squid are often 

 taken for bait in the following manner : Take half a Gar-fish 

 or Long-Nose, or for want of it any small fish, and lower it to 

 within a few feet of the bottom by a fishing line : if there are 

 any about, they will at once seize upon it, when you must 

 draw them steadily to the surface, and being before provided 

 with a stick 6 feet in length with four hooks No. 7 (fig. 64^, 

 p. 213) lashed on the end back to back, hook the fish near the 



