ORDER I. THE SEPIA.— ARGONAUT. 220 
At Teneriffe, in the Brazils, in Peru and Chili, various species of Ceph- 
alopods are used as food. Along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, 
fo) 
the common Sepia officinalis is so numerous that the cuttle bones may be 
seen heaped by the waves into a ridge, which fringes the sea for miles. 
“As in ancient times,” says Edward Forbes, “these mollusks constitute 
now a valuable part of the food of the poor, by whom they are mostly used. 
One of the most striking spectacles at night on the shores of the gean is 
to see the numerous torches glancing along the shores, and reflected by the 
still and clear sea, borne by poor fishermen, paddling as silent as possible 
over the rocky shallows in search of the cuttle-fish, which, when seen 
lying beneath the water in wait for his prey, they dexterously spear, ere 
the creature has time to dart with the rapidity of an arrow from the weapon 
about to transfix his soft but firm body.” 
Animals exposed to so many enemies must necessarily multiply in an 
analogous ratio. Their numerous eggs are generally brought forth in the 
spring. In the species inhabiting the high seas they float freely on the 
surface, carried along by the currents and the winds, and form large gelati- 
nous bunches, or cylindrical rolls, sometimes as large as a man’s leg. The 
eggs of the littoral Cephalopods appear in the form of small transparent 
grapes, or black pear-shaped sacs, the stems of which are attached to alow, 
or any other convenient body. The young animals, hatched by the warmth 
of the sun, emerge from the husk perfectly formed, and give immediate 
proof of their social nature by herding together in large bodies. 
According to trustworthy testimonies, some species of Cephalopods attain 
an astonishing size. Thus Péron saw, near Van Diemen’s Land, a Sepia 
as big as a tun, rolling about in the waters. Its enormous arms had the 
appearance of frightful snakes. Each of these organs was at least seven 
feet long, and measured seven or eight inches round the base. Not satis- 
fied with reality, some writers have magnified the size of the cuttle-fishes 
to fabulous dimensions. Thus Pernetti mentions a colossal cuttle-fish, 
@, overturned a three-masted ship; and Pliny 
3D? 
notices a similar monster, with arms thirty feet long, and a corresponding 
which, climbing up the riggin 
girth. 
All the Acetabuliferous, or eup-bearing Cephalopods, are destitute of an 
outward shell, with the sole exception of the Argonaut, which poets, ancient 
and modern, have celebrated as the model from which man took the first 
idea of navigation. Its two sail-like arms expanding in the air, and the 
six others rowing in the water, the keel of its elegant shell is pictured 
as dividing the surface of the tranquil sea. But as soon as a breath of 
wind curls the waters, or the least danger appears, the cautious Argonaut 
takes in his sails, draws back his oars, creeps into his shell, and sinks 
instantly into a securer depth. 
