278 



THE INHABITANTS OF THE SEA. 



constitutes now, as in ancient times, a valuable part of the food 

 of the poor. " One of the most striking spectacles," says 

 Edward Fortes, " is to see at night on the shores of the .(Egean 

 the numerous torches glancing along the shores, and reflected 

 by the still and clear sea, borne by poor fishermen, paddling as 

 silently as possible over the rocky shallows in search of the 

 cuttle-fish, which, when seen lying beneath the water in wait for 

 bis 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 the attacks of so many enemies must 

 necessarily multiply in aD 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 winds, and form large gela- 

 tinous bunches or cylindrical rolls, sometimes as large as a 

 man's leg. 



The eggs of the littoral cephalopods appear in the form of 

 dark-coloured, roundish or spindle-shaped bodies, of the size and 

 colour of grapes, and hanging together in clusters. They are 



soft to the touch, with a tough skin, 

 resembling india-rubber; one end 

 is attenuated into a sort of point 

 or nipple, and the other prolonged 

 into a pedicle, which coils round 

 seaweed or other floating objects, 

 and serves to fix the berry-like 

 bag in its place. At an early stage 

 these " sea-grapes," as they are 

 called by the fishermen, contain a 

 white yolk enclosed in a clear albu- 

 men, and nearer maturity the young 

 cuttle-fish may be found within in 

 varioub stages of formation, until 

 finally, hatched by the heat of the 

 sun, it emerges from the husk per- 

 fectly formed, and launches forth 

 into the water. 

 Some species of cephalopods are only about the size of a finger, 

 while others attain an astonishing size. Banks and Solander, in 



Ova of the Cuttle-fish. 



