28 
BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
have this value. Its use as food is not unknown. Rev. 
Philip Tocque, in his work on Newfoundland, speaking* 
apparently of this species, says : “ The Red Indians of New- 
foundland esteemed it a great delicacy, it being eaten raw by* 
them. It is rarely eaten by the inhabitants of Newfoundland,, 
being generally considered unfit for food. It is, however, a 
well-flavored fish, and is excellent either boiled or fried ; it 
tastes much like the large claws of the lobster.” 
As is well known, it is from the ink of an allied form that 
the India ink of commerce is obtained. We cannot find that 
any experiments have been tried to determine the value of 
this species for that purpose. Probably it would not pay to 
capture it especially for this, but if worth while the ink bags 
of those used in the fisheries could be saved, the fishermen 
putting all good ones aside as the Squid are cut up for bait. 
It is interesting in this connection to note that it was long 
ago upon our own shores considered good food. Denys in his 
“Histoire Naturelle” of 1672, speaking of the Squid in 
Acadia, says : “ The Squid [Leucornet] is another fish formed 
about like the cuttle-fish. It has arms around the head of 
the length of half a foot or thereabouts, with which it takes 
fish for food. To capture it a fire is made on the shore at the 
edge of the water. At night on the flood tide it comes towards 
the land and, leaving the sea, lands high and dry upon the- 
beach which is often found quite covered with it. It is about 
a foot in length, quite round, larger in the middle than at 
the ends; the end of the tail is pointed at which there is a 
border of two fingers in size all around, like a little round 
shield. It is good to eat roasted, boiled and fried ; it makes 
the black sauce just as do the Oalamaries in France, which 
are little cuttle fishes. These fishes are found there in the 
sea as large as hogsheads. These latter never come to land, 
where only the little ones are seen, in the spring and autumn.”' 
n the latter sentence we have apparently a reference to the- 
giant cuttle-fish of Newfoundland, lately described by Prof. 
Verrill. The entire description shows an accuracy of observa- 
tion which is quite surprising, considering the time and the- 
little attention then paid to such matters. 
