SHELLS AND MOLLUSCOUS ANIMALS. 229 



and have horny suckers in rows, there being in 

 the common cuttle-fish no less than two hundred 

 and forty distinct suckers on each of these flexible 

 and muscular limbs. By means of these the 

 animal seizes its prey, and firmly holds any object 

 within its grasp. This tenacity of hold renders 

 some of the species of this group so dangerous, 

 that they have power to excite terror in the 

 breasts of those not easily dismayed by the sight 

 of the monsters of the deep ; and the prey of 

 the cuttle-fish can often be extricated from its 

 clutches, only by cutting away the limbs which 

 encircle it. 



One of the commonest kinds of cuttle-fish, the 

 Poulpe or Preke (Octopus vulgaris], is a familiar 

 object on many parts of our coast; but its ap- 

 pearance would not invite to a farther acquaintance. 

 It has really a fierce and evil look, as, with a fixed 

 gaze, it stares at us from the sands, moving its 

 long muscular arms in all directions. Nor would 

 it be very desirable to come within the grasp of 

 these arms, for their touch is said to cause pain 

 and inflammation to the human limb; and as to 

 the luckless fish which they encircle, no power of 

 escape remains to it. Held fast by the suckers, it 

 is dragged to the mouth, and voraciously eaten. 

 The mouth of all the species is furnished with a firm 

 strong beak, like that of a parrot, and with this 

 the Poulpe breaks into the hard shell of the crab, 

 rending its coat of mail in pieces, and swallowing 

 the defenceless prey, watching with its staring 

 eyes, until another and another crab has come 

 within its reach, and satisfied present hunger. 

 Among all the molluscous animals the cuttle-fishes 

 stand pre-eminent for their voracity. The different 

 species of Octopus crawl along the bottom of the 



