139 



little semicircular appendages like wings, which pro- 

 ject from either side of the tail. Many wonderful 

 and incredible stories are told by sailors of the bulk 

 and strength of this fish, but it is certain that it is 

 frequently caught of one hundred and fifty pounds 

 weight on the coast of Chili, and the flesh is esteemed 

 a great delicacy. The third is the cuttle fish with 

 six feet (sepia hexapodia). This species is of a very 

 singular figure, and when seen in a state of quies- 

 cence, appears much more like a broken piece of the 

 small branch of a tree than an animal. Its body does 

 not exceed six inches in length, and is of the size of 

 a man's finger, divided into four or five articula^ 

 tions decreasing in size towards the tail. Its feet 

 are usually drawn up near the head, but when ex- 

 tended have the appearance of so many floating roots ; 

 like those of other cuttle fish, they are furnished with 

 suckers, but so small as to be scarcely discernible. 

 The head is misshapen, and supplied with two an* 

 tennae, or trunks. The black liquor is contained in 

 a little bladder or vesicle, common to all the genus, 

 and is very good for writing. The animal, when 

 taken in the naked hand, produces a slight degree of 

 numbness, which is not, however, attended with any 

 disagreeable consequences. 



Of the urchins, or sea- eggs, there are several spe- 

 cies, but the principal are the white and the black. 

 The white urchin (echinus albus) is of a globular 

 form, and about three inches in diameter ; the shell 

 and spines are white, but the interior substance is 

 yellowish, and of an excellent taste. The black ur- 

 chin (echinus niger) is a little large/ than thp white, 



