124, NEW. SOUTH WALES 
receives the greater part of the Tunisian supplies, which are principally 
sold in the Greek markets. Portugal also largely competes with Tunis 
in supplying this trade. 
Professor Forbes says :—“ When well beaten to render the flesh tender 
before being dressed, and then cut up into morsels and served ina 
savoury brown stew, they make a dish by no means to be despised, 
excellent in both substance and flavour. A modern Lycian dinner, in 
which stewed cuttle-fish formed the first and roast porcupine the second 
course, would scarcely fail to be relished by an unprejudiced epicure in 
search of novelty.”* Mr. Lee says that they may also be eaten plainly 
boiled and served with egg sauce. The flavour is not unlike that of the 
skate or the soft part of the scallop. 
More than a hundred millions of cod are caught annually with cuttle- 
fish as bait.t This bait is used in August and September, for they then 
come into the fishing-ground in abundance. They are caught by means 
of a jigger or conical piece of lead, round the base of which eight or ten 
hooks are inserted. The fishermen go out in punts “squid-jigging” of 
an evening to catch the bait required for the next day’s fishing. Whilst 
they fish they shout and make a great noise, for some unknown reason. 
All parts of the squid are used as bait, but they sometimes are eaten 
by the fishermen, who say that they are remarkably sweet and excellent 
when fried. The eyes of the cephalopods are very solid, formed of two 
double concave lenses, separated by a groove. The two halves easily 
separate, and exhibit internally a series of concentric coats of beautiful 
nacreous aspect. They are used as ornaments in Italy, and sold as 
pearls in the Sandwich Islands. The ink which is ejected by squids has 
been used as a pigment from classical times. At present in London 
thousands of “ink-bags” are manufactured into “sepia” by artists’ 
colourmen. The fishermen of some of the English northern counties, 
when cleaning cuttle-fish for bait, dry the ink-bags and their contents, 
and sell.them to the colour-manufacturers. 
*« Travels in Lycia,” by Spratt and Forbes. 
+ Edin., New Phil. Jour., 1826, p. 32. 
