354 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. I., No. 13. 



is that offceu taken bj' Octopus Bairdii when 

 resting on the bottom after swimming, with 

 the head raised, and the bod^- supported on 

 the thickest part of the arms. The ends 

 of the arms are curved irregularlj', as thej- 

 might be in an animal just starting to crawl. 



The highest point of the bodj' is twenty-two 

 inches above the lowest suckers. The arms 

 spread over a circle eighteen feet in diameter, 

 and the connecting membrane between the 

 lateral arms extends three feet from the mouth. 

 The longest arms, those of the second pair, 

 are made as long as the largest measurements 

 from life (sixteen feet) ; and the shortest, the 

 fourth pair, thirteen feet. The third arm on 

 the right side is shorter than the others, and 

 hectocotylized in the male, and is so made in 

 the model. All the arms are four inches in 

 diameter at the thickest part. The body is 

 made proportionallj* smaller than in small 

 specimens. The warts on the head are copied 

 from one of the largest specimens examined, 

 the others showing only two pairs over the 

 eyes. The membranes between the arms ha'\'e 

 been made much as they are in alcohol, but 

 somewhat wider and more distinct along the 

 sides of the arms. The largest suckers are 

 two and a quarter inches in diameter, and de- 

 crease in size from the thickest part of the 

 arm toward the tip, and toward the mouth. 



For convenience in making and moving the 

 model, the arms are made removable at a dis- 

 tance of three feet from the mouth, just be- 

 yond the edge of the widest membrane. 



The upper side of the middle part of the 

 model, including the head and bodj^ was mod- 

 elled in claj-, and a mould made from it in 

 plaster. This was then turned over, and the 

 mouth and under sides of the bases of the 

 arms modelled in it. The arms are so much 

 alike that it was only necessarj' to model the 

 bases of two of them, — one right and one 

 left ; and from these a plaster mould was taken 

 in which the casts of the bases of all the arms 

 were made. This mould stands against the 

 table at the left in the engraving. The ends 

 of the arms were modelled in a similar way, 

 the back being first finished, and a plaster 

 mould made, which was turned over, and the 

 under side modelled upon it. For modelliug 

 the tops of the suckers, a set of stamps was 

 made. A set of suckers of the desired sizes 

 was modelled in clay- on a turntable, and plas- 

 ter casts made of the tops of them, and these 

 used to stamp the tops of the rest of the 

 suckers, which were trimmed round with a 

 knife, and attached to the arm with soft cla^-, 

 after which, the narrow membranes connect- 



ing the larger suckers were modelled between 



them. 



"When the moulds were Ary, the paper casts 

 were made in them hy methods which had been 

 used by Mr. Palmer for models of large fishes 

 and cetaeea. The moulds having been greased, 

 paper soaked wdth paste was laid in it, and 

 joressed and rubbed with the hands until it 

 fitted close to the surface of the mould, and the 

 edges of the pieces of paper adhered together. 

 When the first layer of paper was nearlj' drj-, 

 another was pasted over it ; and, if the strength 

 of the model required it, other laj'ers were 

 added. The thin membranes between the arms 

 were strengthened by wire netting between the 

 two la3-ers of paper, the meshes being filled 

 with whiting mixed with glue. On the surfaces 

 of the suckers, paper pulp was put in the 

 mould before the paper was pasted in. 



After drying several da^^s, the casts were 

 taken from the moulds, the edges trimmed, and 

 the pieces fastened together with glue. The 

 broken places in the casts were mended with 

 paper pulp, the joints co\'ered over with the 

 same material, and, when dry, the surface was 

 smoothed with sandpaper, and varnished with 

 shellac. The siphon was made separately', and 

 afterward attached to the body. The mouth 

 was made of plaster, showing the jaws closed. 

 The ej'es are of glass, like ordiuarj- birds'-eyes, 

 painted and silvered according to the best evi- 

 dence we could get as to their color. 



The color of Octopus punctatus seems to 

 differ greatlj', according to its moods and sur- 

 roundings. It is commonly' described as light 

 orange or j-ellow with reddish-brown spots. 

 At other times it appears to be bright orange 

 and crimson, with dark-brown blotches on the 

 back. The model was first painted light graj', 

 on which the other colors were thrown from a 

 brush in fine spots. The orange spots are 

 scattered over the whole surface, and more 

 thickly in patches along the back and sides of 

 the arms. Crimson spots are distributed in 

 the same waj ; and over both, dark-brown 

 spots are thinly^ scattered. The faces of the 

 suckers are .yellowish w'hite without spots. 



The model weighs about seventy pounds, 

 and is stiff and strong enough for ordinarj' 

 handling, and only liable to be broken bj a 

 fall or sudden blow. It is intended to be hung 

 in a horizontal position, as in the engraving, 

 but high enough for the under side to be seen, 

 as well as the upper. It hangs by eight wires 

 attached to rings near the joints in the arms, 

 and connected together above so that it can be 

 hung from a single hook. 



The engraving shows the model hanging in 



