142 » § The-B OOK (of .N-A DUR E dios, 
ter turning it upon his back. -The tongue and 
i belonging to it, when taken out of the 
eak, generally bring along with them fome of 
the muicles, two of which, f/f, I have here 
given acutof. But I return to the tongue. 
The contraGtion of the tongue, which, as I 
have faid, confifts of feven cartilaginous bones, 
becomes very vifible on parting it from the fun- 
gous flefh to which it is faftened, and in which it 
is wrapped up; but it may be made ftill more 
confpicuous, by drawing off the membrane, Fig. 
v. 4, with which the inferior part of the tongue 
is covered, and afterwards feparating from each 
other with a fine knife, at the extremities, the 
little cartilaginous bones, of which it confifts, 0. 
After treating the tongue in this manner, we may 
fee by the microfcope, that every one of thefe 
bones is furnifhed with above fixty crooked car- 
tilaginous papillz, Fig. vi. a, in form of teeth, 
and in fome meafure refembling the papille2 on 
the tongues of black cattle. By thefe the Cuttle- 
Fith, when feeding, is the better enabled to 
move its food, and difpofe it for an eafy {wal- 
lowing. ‘The fore-part of thefe papilla, is of a 
clear and tranfparent amber colour, but the hin-. 
der-part, which conftitutes the bafe, or root of 
the tongue, is of a tranfparent white. The beft 
way to examine the tongue, is to invert it, and 
then furvey it with a microfcope on the under or 
lower fide, where its bafe or root lies; for, by this 
means, we difcover, that in ftruCture it exactly re- 
fembles the moft regular web, Fig. vir. aa, from 
the frame, or combination of the cartilaginous 
bones already defcribed. The fight of this ad- 
mirable contrivance, induced me to take out the 
tongue and dry it; but all its beauties vanithed 
almoft entirely in the operation. 
The body of the Cuttle-Fith, when laid on 
its back, appears much whiter, and has by far 
fewer fpots. But the moft remarkable thing in 
this animal, is an opening in this under part of its 
body, in which an expanded hand may be entirely 
buried: this is between the body and the muf- 
cular partition that covers it on its fore-part. 
On opening this lower part of the body, ‘Tab. 
LI. Fig. 1. a4, ina right line through the middle 
of the belly, 46, from the beginning of the 
breaft to the tail,e, and this without injuring the 
contents; there immediately appear feveral re- 
markable internal parts, fome quite plain and | 
naked, and others appear more faintly, as lying 
deeper in the breaft and belly, and only fhew- 
ing themfelves through fome interpofing tran- 
fparent membranes. 
The firft thing which prefents itfelf here, is a 
bag or bladder lying in the fuperior region of the 
breaft, which I call the common excretory 
bag, or bladder. ‘Fhe colour of this part is 
white, its fubftance is mufcular, and its fhape is 
like that of an inverted funnel, very {pacious and 
broad at the bottom, d, and flender at top, e, it 
joins on each fide with two oval cartilaginous, 
mufcular and hollow little bodies, ff, which 
ferve to receive thefe two greater papille, or ear- 
tilaginous eminencies, g g, which I have repre- 
fented, one on each fide of the mufcular partition, 
‘Yoofely furrounding the contents of the belly, and 
cut away by me upon this occafion. By thi 
junction of the excretory bladder, and thefe oval 
bodies, it is provided, that nothing fhould move 
foon, or be difcharged by the inferior parts of the 
body, without paffing through this excretory 
bag ; and the fame wife difpofition of thefe parts, 
keeps the Fith’s eyes from being-injured by the 
excrements, {perm, eggs, and black liquor 
which all make their way through this funnel, as 
they certainly would, if thefe difcharges were to 
be made between the funnel, and the mufcular 
partition of the body: for this reafon alfo, nature 
has formed this bag or bladder of a matcular 
fubftance, the better to difcharge its contents at 
the creature’s pleafure. 
As yet, I cannot fay for certain, whether or - 
no the papille juft fpoken of, are naturally and 
conftantly united with the oval acetabula, which 
I have defcribed; for I have fometimes found 
them independent and disjoined. But as I could 
never find in thefe parts, the leaft mark of any 
rupture or fra€tion, the acetabula, on the con- 
trary, always appearing quite fmooth, and the 
papilla of a bright polith; I think it very pro- 
bable, that the Cuttle-Fith has a power allowed 
it by nature of joining and feparating thefe 
parts, as neceflity requires, 
‘The office of thus joining and feparating thefe 
parts, I am invlined to attribute toa pair of com- 
pact, oblong, white mutcles, Fig. 1.54, which at 
their upper extremities unite with the acetabula, 
and are contained within the lower edge of the 
excretory bag or bladder. Thefe mutcles are 
among the parts, which appear naked in the 
breaft, without any previous diffeGtion. Nor do 
I fee any ufe they can be of except that which 
I have affigned them, of joining and feparating 
the acetabula, and the papille, by doing which, 
the excretory bag or bladder is at the fame 
time dilated, fo as to facilitate the difcharge of 
its contents through the funnel already men- 
tioned. 
Hence, it is impoffible to thruft all the hand 
in the manner beforementioned, into the Cuttle- 
Fith’s body, without fir feparating the papilla 
from their acetabula. 
On opening this excretory part, it appears 
compact and mufcular, and forms withinfide, on 
its lower part where it joins the breaft, a kind of 
lobe in the fhape of a broad tongue. 
The other parts that appear in this place, with- 
out further diffection, are the gills, 22, of a foft 
{pungy fubftance, placed on the two fides of the 
body, and forming a very agreeable appearance, 
on account of the extreme whitenels of a great 
number of blood-veffels, with which they are. 
provided ; and the colour of thefe veflels is 
greatly heightened by the greenifh hue of the 
gills through which they run. 
Examining one of thefe gills, I found in only 
half of it more than forty divifions or ramifica- 
tions of the greater blood-veficls; that is more 
than eighty toa fide. But if we confider alfo 
the prodigious number of thefe ramifications, 
which penetrate into the fubftance of the gills, 
Fig. 1.2, where the mufcles adminiftring , to 
thefe parts likewife run, we fhall have reafon to 
think 
eal 
