356 ; 
FOREST AND STREAM. 


For Forest and Stream 
INGLE-NOOK. 

OW all the woodland paths are strewn 
With autumn’s tawny leaves; 
The Frost elf hangs his glittering gems 
Upon the cottage eaves. 
The dancing brook has lost its glee, 
And clinks in fetters down, 
Each mountain monarch of the north 
Puts on its crystal crown. 
But circling round our gladsome hearth, 
With merry chat and song, 
Still may we tread the forest glade, 
And errant days prolong. 
Once more the dainty line we cast, 
Or track the startled deer, 
As summer scenes go flitting past, 
And wildwood sounds we hear. 
What reck we of the pinching cold, 
The fetters round us flung? 
Let hermits in their caves grow old, 
Good cheer shall keep us young. 
As memory doth her treasures bring 
Hope pictures coming days, 
When lured by balmy breath of spring 
We seek the woodland ways. 
Thus will we count our trophies o’er, 
And plan the new campaign, 
Till from the snow-drifts at the door, 
The crocus peeps again. 
Then pile the faggots high, my boys, 
And mid the ruddy light, 
We'll link our past and future joys, 
In golden bonds to night. 
= 0 
TO PROFESSOR AGASSIZ. 
eS 
BY SAMUEL D. ROBBINS. 
Great prophet of eternal nature, thou 
To whose pure heart her inmost secrets bow, 
Tis thine to read, with innocence sublime 
In archives deep the autograph of time. 
The rock of ages to thy vision clear, 
Reveals the annals of the growing sphere, 
Scripturesin cipher, by the icebergs old, 
On mount and plain and boulders manifold. 
Glad to the reverent research, Ocean gave 
Its choicest treasures from its lowest cave; 
On shell and fossil thou hast learned to find 
The earliest signets of creative mind. 
A grateful world lifts up one prayer for thee! 
Long as time lasts, dear shall thy memory be. 
Who lowly bows before the humblest clod, 
Becomes himself a Temple filled with God. 
Boston Transcript. 
Alatural History. 
THE GREAT OCTOPUS: 
ee Pes 
Sr. Jonn’s, NEWFOUNDLAND, December 24, 1873. 
Eprror Forest AND STREAM:— 
Two fishermen were out in a punt on October 26th, 
1873, off Portugal Cove, Conception Bay. Observing 
some object floating on the water at some distance, 
they rowed towards it, supposing it to bea large sail, or 
the debris of a wreck. On reaching it one of the men 
struck it with his ‘“‘gaff,’ when immediately it showed 
signs of life, and reared a parrot-like beak, which they de- 
clare was ‘‘as large as a six gallon keg,” with which it 
struck the bottom of the boat violently. It then shot out 
from about its het#l two huge, livid arms, and began to 
twine them around the boat. One of the men seized a 
small axe and severed both arms as they lay over the gun- 
wale of the boat, whereupon the fish moved off, and ejected 
an immense quantity of inky fluid, which darkened the water 
for two or three hundred yards. The men saw it for some 
short time afterwards, and observed its tailin the «ir, which 
they declare was ten feet across. They estimate the body 
of the fish to be sixty feet in length, five feet in diameter, 
of the same shape and color as the common squid, and 
they observed that it moved in the same way as the squid, 
backwards and forwards. They had ample opportunity of 
observing its shape and dimensions before they were 
alarmed by its movements, so that their statements are 
quite reliable, especially when corroborated by the arms, 
which they brought ashore. One of these arms was, un- 
fortunately, destroyed, but the clergyman of the village 
assured me that it was ten inches in diameter and six feet 
in length. The other arm was brought to St. John’s, but 
not before six feet of it were destroyed. . Fortunately, I 
heard of its arrival, and had it preserved. Mr. Murray, 
our Geological Surveyor, and I examined it carefully, had 
it photographed and immersed in alcohol, and it is now in 
our museum. It measured nineteen feet, is of a pale pink 
color, and entirely cartilaginous, tough and pliant as 
leather, and very strong. It is but three inches and a half 
in circumference, except towards the extremity, where it 
broadens like an oar to six inches in circumference, and 
then tapers to a pretty fine point. The under surface of 
the extremity is covered with suckers to the very point. 
First there is a cluster of small suckers, with fine sharp 
teeth round their edges, and with a membrane stretched 
across each. Of thesethere areabout seventy. Then come 
two rows of very large suckers, the movable disk of each 
an inch and a quarter in diameter, the cartilaginous ring 
not being denticulated. These are twenty-four in number. 
After these there is another group of suckers with denticu- 
lated edges, similar to the first, about fifty in number. 
Along the under surface about fifty more small suckers are 
distinguished at intervals, making in all about 180 suckers. 
The men estimate that they left at least ten feet of the arm 
attached to the body of the fish, so that its original length 
must have been thirty-five feet. 
iW) As 





I am assured by a clergyman here that during the winter 
of 1870 two cuttles were cast ashore at Lamaline, the bodies 
of which measured respectively forty and forty-seven feet. 
More than once we have had accounts of gigantic cuttles 
being seen in some of our bays, but not till now was any 
portion of them secured. 
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THE OCTOPUS. 
Since the foregoing occurrence took place a perfect 
specimen has been captured by some fishermen in Logie 
Bay, a few miles north of St. Johns, and I have been for- 
tunate enough to obtain possession of it. After carefully 
measuring it. I had it photographed and then immersed in 
the strongest brine. Its dimensions are small compared 
with those of the giant seen in Conception Bay, but still it 
possesses great interest for naturalists. The body of this 
cuttle is eight feet in length and five feet in circumference. 
The tail is two feet in breadth at the widest part, and has a 
fin like expansion. The fish, on examination, proved to be 
a decapod, having ten arms, radiating from the central 
part, or head, in the centre of which isa strong, horny 
beak, shaped like that of a parrot, and about the size of a 
man’s fist. The eyes are behind the central nucleus, and 
are each four inches in diameter, very prominent and dark, 
with a white circle around. Two of the arms are much 
longer than the others, being each twenty-four feet in 
length, not more than two inches and a half in circumfer- 
ence, and arranged at the extremities with sucking disks, 
arranged in the same way as in the amputated arm I have 
already described. All of these suckers have sharp dentic- 
ulated edges, and twenty-four of them are large, and ar- 
ranged in two rows, each being an inch in diameter. The 
others vary and decrease in size towards the extremity, 
where they are not larger than a split pea. In all there are 
about 150 suckers on each of the long arms. The eight 
shorter arms are each ten inches in circumference at the 
point of junction with the head, and taper to a fine point. 
Their under surface is completely covered witb large suck: 
ers, arranged in a double row, and each arm carries about 
one hundred. The total number of suckers is thus about 
1,100. The eight shorter arms are each six feet in length. 
Connected with the body is a funnel, through which the 
water is ejected after the extraction of its oxygen by the 
breathing organs. This funnel runs the entire length of 
the body. It serves another purpose—when the water is 
forcibly ejected by the reaction of the surrounding me- 
dium the fish moves backwards with great swiftness, while 
the forward motion is accomplished by the movements of 
its tail, There is a second funnel, through which the inky 
fluid which it secretes is ejected when the creature wishes 
to escape from its pursuers. 
It is believed here, by those familiar with these cuttle- 
fish, that my specimen is a young one—perhaps two or 
three years old—and which, if not captured, would prob- 
ably have grown to the length of forty or fifty feet in the 
body, as their growth is wonderfully rapid. At all events, 
the existence of cuttle-fish in the waters around this island 
is beyond all question. I am informed by an intelligent 
person here, whose veracity I could not question, that he 
measured the body of acuttle fish cast ashore in a storm 
in Green Bay, about two years ago, and found it eighty feet. 
The Rey. A. E. Gabriel, of Portugal Cove, assured me that 
in the winter of 1870, when he lived at Lamaline, on the 
southern coast, two cuttles were cast ashore whose bodies 
measured forty and forty-seven feet respecttvely. Many 
persons have informed me of having seen them from twelve 
to twenty feet in length of body, and arms between thirty 
and forty feet. Our fishermen universally believe in them, 
and call them ‘‘big squids.” They have a saying that ‘‘the 
squid is the biggest fish in the sea.” A fisherman here—a 
simple-minded, honest fellow—told me that his small coaster 
was once anchored in one of the northern harbors, when 
suddenly, though making no water, she began to sink. 
Those on board took to their boats in alarm, but after go- 
ing down till the water was nearly on a level with the deck 
she suddenly rose again, and took no harm Soon after 


they observed a “‘big squid” disporting in the water, andi 
concluded that it had grappled their craft with its arms. 
and dragged it down as far as it was able, and then sud-- 
denly relaxed its hold from some cause. 
Our fishermen say that these cuttles anchor themselves: 
to a rock or to the bottom by their long arms, and thus ob-- 
tain a ‘‘purchase” when grasping anything with the shorter: 
arms. A few years ago a gigantic cuttle was taken on the’ 
Labrador side of Belle Isle Straits, whose body measured: 
fifteen feet, and the longest arms thirty-seven feet each.. 
This is thoroughly authenticated by Dr. Honeyman, of 
Halifax. 
Among the last things Professor Agassiz did was to write’ 
to Mr. Murray, of our Geological Survey, in regard to the’ 
great cuttle whose arm was amputated in Conception Bay.. 
He wished to see the arm in order to determine to what 
species its owner belonged. I was just about to send him 
my specimen when news arrived by telegraph of his death. 
I may mention that the eminent naturalist, Professor 
Steenstrup, records the appearance of similar gigantic cut- 
tles on the coast of Denmark, and describes two species 
under the name of Architewthis and A. dux. 
The photographs which I enclose were taken by Messrs. 
McKenny & Parsons, of this place. One is a photograph 
of the head resting ona stand, the arms hanging down, 
their extremities in a large round bath, the beak in the 
centre. The two longer arms are coiled on each side of the 
shorter ones, at the extremity of the supporting rail, and 
all the arms show the sucking disks. The body is photo- 
graphed separately, as the head was cut off by the fisher- 
men when killing it. M. Harvey. 
[The photograph of the body we have not reproduced, as. 
it presented no striking feature. ]|—EDp. 
——<—$—$<<——— et 
SNAKES SHEDDING THEIR SKINS. 
at Ee 
Epiror Forest AND STREAM :— 
I once had the chance to see asnake shed his skin. ¥F 
think it was in the month of June. I was standing in the 
field when I observed a striped snake going through some 
strange contortions, turning first on his back and then on 
his side, and all this time his head was kept in between 
two small sprouts about half an inch apart. I thought at 
first he was insane, or performing for the circus, but in a 
few moments all was made plain; he was getting the old 
skin started from around his mouth. At last it gave way, 
and began to roll over his back, and he soon pulled himself 
out of it, and left the skin turned completely wrong side 
out. He then went on his way, acting as though he felt 
very happy. , 
Question: Do all snakes shed their skins? and if so, do 
they shed them more than once in a year? and will snakes 
freeze and then thaw out and live, as worms, ants, bugs,. 
etc., do? I have found that striped snakes will drown under 
water in a short time. Now, how is the water adder con- 
stituted that he can remain under water? Will some of 
your correspondents please explain? I found on examina- 
tion that the snakes shed a covering to their eyes, and I 
am inclined to the belief that they can see but little, if 
any, for some days prior to shedding their skins, and lie 
around inactive. J. L. Hersey. 
Eprror ForESsT AND STREAM :— 
Mr. Hersey’s letter is quite interesting, and I hope it will 
induce others to send to Forest AND STREAM their obser- 
vations on the subject. His queries, too, are very suggest- 
ive, though they forcibly remind the reader that it is easier 
to ask questions than to answer them. ; 
Do all snakes shed their skins, and tf so do they shed them 
more than once in a year? 
All snakes do shed their skins, the first moult occurring 
soon after the young snake is born. The moults are re- 
peated at intervals of a month or two during the warm 
season, but in winter none occur. In captivity the shed- 
ding of the skin is not so frequent, and is very laborious 
and painful, sometimes resulting in death. 
The shed skin is usually turned completely inside out, as 
in the case mentioned by Mr. Hersey. Whether this is 
always so is a question on which we neéd more light. Mr. 
James Simson, an enthusiastic correspondent of Land and 
Water, insists that they are frequently left ‘‘as the snake 
wore them.” Frank Buckland is equally positive that this 
never occurs. I have in my possession the skin of a moun- 
tain black snake (Coluber Alleghaniensis) nearly seven feet 
long, which is inverted as neatly as a glove finger could be, 
and without a tear in it; also, an inverted skin of the com- 
mon black snake, (Bascanion constrictor). I have a skin 
shed in November by a rattlesnake (Candisona horrida), 
afterwards a pet of mine, which remains in its natural po- 
sition. I did not see the operation of moulting, and it is 
barely possible that the skin may have been turned while 
fresh and soft, but I do not believe that it was ever com- 
pletely inverted. I should state that the snake was not in 
captivity when he shed this skin, but was taken just after 
the act of moulting. 
“Will snakes freeze and then thaw out?” 
Spallanzani kept snakes, frogs, and salamanders in a 
state of torpor in an ice house for three years and a half, 
and then easily restored them to activity. In our climate 
snakes retire at the approach of cold weather into their 
winter retreats in old burrows, hollow trees, or stone heaps, 
and there they remain, hibernating, until they are revivi- 
fled by the warm rays of the spring sun. It would seem 
as if they would often be exposed to a freezing tempera- 
ture. I have found the common toad, in the early spring 
thaws, hibernating in the soil a foot or two below the sur- 
face, where it must have been surrounded throughout the 


