98 THE KINDS OF OCTOPUS. 



times ascends trees ! Aristotle describes the 

 polypus as tenacious of life, but killed if its neck 

 be squeezed. (Book ix. c. 17.) This remark 

 probably refers to the existence of a practice by 

 which the Greek fishermen of our own times 

 destroy the Octopus and other cuttle-fishes. 

 They turn back the arms over the head, and 

 seizing the latter with their teeth, compress it 

 in the region of the brain. Thus the creature is 

 instantaneously killed. The remarkable changes 

 of colour presented by the polypus were noticed 

 by the ancients, and the truth of the statement 

 of Aristotle, that such change is suddenly pro- 

 duced by fear, may be easily verified by observing 

 one of these creatures when suddenly taken out 

 of the water. 



The four species of the polypus noticed in 

 the History of Animals appear to be the follow- 

 ing (Book iv. c. 1.) : 



1st. — The Octopus vulgaris. This is the large 

 kind, " seen most frequently near the surface of 

 the water." 



2nd. — The " little spotted polype, which is 

 not eaten." Unless this be the young of the 

 first, there is no common iEgean species to com- 

 pare with it. 



