NATURAL HISTORY of N ORWAT. 179 



neffes, have obferved a hundred, or even a thoufand yoting ones, 

 crowded together in the uterus of the female, without any 

 motion ; till at laft they eat their way through, upon which the 

 parent dies. Thefe, if -females, only furvive till they are devoured 

 in their turn, by their own offspring. Pliny, who makes fome 

 difference betwixt the Sepia and the Loligo, which I do not un- 

 derftand, writes of them thus : " Loligo volitat extra aquam fe 

 efferens, quod 8c peclunculi faciunt, fagittae modo. Sepiarum ge- 

 neris mares varii, 8c nigriores, conftantiaeque majoris. Percuffaetri- 

 dente foeminae auxiliantur, at i£lo mare fcemina fugit. Ambo autem 

 ubi fenfere fe apprehendi, effufo attramento, quod pro fanguine 

 his eft, infufcata aqua abfconduntur." 



In the laft century our peafants looked upon this Cuttle-fifh to 

 be a dangerous and ominous creature : they called it an amazing 

 fea-prodigy, when they catched one near Katvig in Holland, in 

 the year 1661. See Olear. Gottorff Mufaeum, p. 42, where that 

 author might reafonably be furprized that a Fifh well known to 

 the ancients fhould feem fo great a prodigy. 



The Kors-fisk, or Kors-trold, the Stella Marina, Star-fifh, or Star-fifc. 

 Sea-ftar, is an extraordinary kind of Fifh, divided into many 

 fpecies ; of which I fhall (as I have done through this whole 

 work) only defcribe thofe that are found on our coafts : amongfl 

 thefe are fome which I cannot recolle£b to have feen any where 

 elfe. This creature in general confifts of a round body, about 

 two inches in diameter, and without a head *. From this central 

 part there extends on all fides, according to the kinds, five or 

 more,, even to ten points or legs, like the rays of a ftar. Thefe 

 are hardly four inches long, arid are of the fame fubftance with 

 the body, which is neither flefh, bone, nor cartilage. This fub- 

 ftance being neither hard nor tough, but rather brittle, is eaftly 

 broken, juft like a bit of bread : there is however a certain fore 

 of them that is rather tougher, aud will bend without breaking. 

 They are generally covered with a flefh-coloured or yellowifh 

 skin ; they are furr'd underneath, fomewhat in the manner of 

 velvet fhag, that is ufed for lining cloaths. In the center of this 

 liar there is an aperture, and under it a hollow place, not fo hig 

 as a fixpenny piece. In this place it is to be fuppofed both the 

 ■ mouth and the anus are fituated f . From this aperture there are 



con- 



* A particular fort are found here, their bodies not fo big as a tixpenny-piece, 

 quite black, and with five legs or branches, as fmall towards the body as at the ex- 

 tremities, which in other Star-fifh are much thicker towards the center. 



•f Monf. Baker a fait quelques experiences fur les Polypes feches. II a cm y -avoir 

 decouvert l'anus, mais les observations de Monf. Trembley & ce que nous en avons 



vu 



