PART IV. 

 HIGHER LIFE I jY WATERS. 



THE DEVIL-FISH AND HIS KIN. 



1. The cuttle-fish has been an object of curiosity al- 

 most from time immemorial, both on account of its strange 

 form and its habits. It seems to be a connecting link be- 

 tween the fishes and the lower forms of life in the waters. 

 Like the sea-anemone, it consists of a sack-like body with 

 tentacles, only with the cuttle-fish the body has attained a 

 much greater consistency, and is provided with a bony sub- 

 stance known as cuttle-fish shell, and the tentacles are de- 

 veloped into ten long leathery arms, provided with suckers 

 which can attach themselves to any hard substance. Just 

 where the arms are attached to the body are two large, 

 staring eyes, which give to the fish a very sinister appear- 

 ance. 



2. The cuttle-fish seeks its ~prey in the open sea, and is 

 very voracious. Fishermen dread its presence in their nets, 

 as it bites and mutilates other fish savagely. It is provided 

 with a receptacle containing a dark-colored fluid, which it 

 discharges when attacked, coloring the water, and so render- 

 ing itself invisible to its enemy. This fluid is sepia, from 

 which sepia or India ink is made. The cuttle-fish some- 

 times attains the size of three feet in length. 



3. A much more formidable member of this family of 



