NATURAL HISTORY of NOR WAT. i 79 



neffes, have obferved a hundred, or even a thoufand young 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- 

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

 efferens, quod 8c pe&uncuii faciunt, fagittse modo. Sepiarum ge- 

 neris mares varii, 8c nigriores, conflantisequ emajoris. Percu ffx tri- 

 dente fceminae auxiliantur, at i£fco 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 

 he 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. Mufseum, p. 42, where that 

 author might reafoiiably 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 : amongft 

 thefe are fome which I cannot recoiled to have feen any where 

 elfe. This creature in general confifls 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, and are of the fame fubftance with 

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

 ftance being iaoitk^i lau.j.vl xxkjjl tougk, kv»fc vcttko* brittle *j$ eafll^ 



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

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

 They are generally covered with a flefh -coloured or yellowifh 

 skin 5 they are furr'd underneath, fomewhat in the manner of 

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

 flar there is an aperture, and under it a hollow place, not fo big 

 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 fixpenny-piece, 

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

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



t Monf. Baker a fait quelques experiences fur les Polypes feches. II a cm y avoir 

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



vu 



