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CHARLES DARWIN 



proceeded, till having gained a deeper part, it darted away, 

 leaving a dusky train of ink to hide the hole into which it 

 had crawled. 



While looking for marine animals, with my head about 

 two feet above the rocky shore, I was more than once saluted 

 by a jet of water, accompanied by a slight grating noise. At 

 first I could not think what it was, but -afterwards I found 

 out that it was this cuttle-fish, which, though concealed in a 

 hole, thus often led me to its discovery. That it possesses 

 the power of ejecting water there is no doubt, and it appeared 

 to me that it could certainly take good aim by directing the 

 tube or siphon on the under side of its body. From the diffi- 

 culty which these animals have in carrying their heads, they 

 cannot crawl with ease when placed on the ground. I 

 observed that one which I kept in the cabin was slightly 

 phosphorescent in the dark. 



St. Paul's Rocks.— In crossing the Atlantic we hove-to, 

 during the morning of February 16th, close to the island of 

 St. Paul's. This cluster of rocks is situated in o° 58' north 

 latitude, and 29 0 15' west longitude. It is 540 miles distant 

 from the coast of America, and 350 from the island of Fer- 



nando Noronha. The highest point is only fifty feet above 

 the level of the sea, and the entire circumference is under 

 three-quarters of a mile. This small point rises abruptly ouS 

 of the depths of the ocean. Its mineralogical constitution 

 is not simple ; in some parts the rock is of a cherty, in others 



