144 The Cuttle-fish or Sauid 



latter is not nearly so wonderful, seeing that it is 

 most carefully carried out by the hand of man and 

 with all the resources of his intelligence. 



With this I complete these all-too-brief sketches 

 of the sea mammals, Sharks and Cuttles. All of 

 these creatures are so sufficiently interesting, and have 

 so many anecdotes clustering around them, that they 

 might well claim a book to themselves. But, in 

 pursuance of the original idea of these sketches I have 

 sternly resisted the temptation to ' pad ' them out, 

 feeling sure that the scantier the information given" 

 consistent with interest, the better will it be retained. 

 We now come to the fish of the deep sea. I do not 

 suggest that the shark, already dealt with, is not a 

 fish, but he is a fish in a distinct category by himself. 

 I have noted most of his peculiarities, and feel sure 

 that my readers will agree with me when I say that 

 he must be kept apart from what most of us under- 

 stand as fish. Wholesome fish with scales and fins, 

 that is ; fish that we can all recognise as such, whether 

 they swim the deep sea or frequent the rivers and 

 ponds. 



Not, be it undertsood, that I would cast any 

 reflection upon a fish because he was not beautiful, 

 as say a mackerel or a red mullet. That would be 

 unfair, especially as I remember a fish I was once 

 acquainted with in Hobson's Bay, called locally the 

 ' flat-head.' It was simply hideous, and its colour 

 that of dark mud. Moreover, the only way to get it 

 off a hook without the certainty of getting a poisoned 

 wound, that would certainly incapacitate one for a 

 week or two, was to fling it down and stick a knife 

 through the base of its head, and so, holding it impaled, 

 to extract the hook. Yet as food it was in every way 

 superb, white and sapid in flesh, and in flavour de- 



