OF NATURAL HISTORY. loi 



by its enemies, emits a fluid as black as ink, tinges the water, and 

 often efcapes by this ingenious ftratagem. The ancient Romans 

 frequently ufed this black fluid as ink in writing. The males and 

 females copulate by a mutual embrace. The female depofits her 

 eggs upon fea- plants in parcels refembling bunches of grapes. At 

 the inftant they drop from the mother, the eggs are white j but the 

 male immediately coats them over with a black liquor. The male 

 perpetually accompanies the female. When the female is attacked, 

 he braves every danger, and often refcues her at the hazard of his 

 own life. The bone of the cuttle-fifli is very light, and, when puU 

 verized, it is employed by different artifts in making moulds* 



The medufa is an animal which has the appearance of a lifelefs 

 mafs of jelly floating on the furface of the ocean. Its body is round- 

 iih, flattened underneath, and the mouth is fituated in the center of 

 the under part. There are many fpecies of this feemingly moft im- 

 perfedt, defencelefs, and abjedl part of animated nature. They are, 

 however, furniflied with tentacula, by which they feize infedts and 

 the fmall fry of fifhes, convey them to their mouths, and devour 

 them. Although the fport of the waves, and the prey of every 

 fifli that approaches them, they are gregarious animals, and, parti- 

 cularly in warm climates, fometimes collefl in fuch numbers as to 

 have the appearance of whitifli rocks under the furface of the ocean. 



We Have thus given a fliort fketch of the ftrudure of animals, 

 from man down to the infeiS: tribes, and fhall now conclude with a 

 few remarks.. 



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