The: Hi BSL OR 
dead of the fea-fhore contained a greater quan- 
tity of this ink than thofe which were brought 
to me alive. - The liquid 1s infipid to the tafte, 
without the leaft fowernefs or bitternefs; fo 
that Icannot fee how this infipid fubftance, by 
being boiled with the Cuttle-fifh, can in the 
leaft contribute to give it an extraordinary re- 
lith, as thofe pretend who feed upon it; tho’ 
the moft general manner of ufing this fith, is 
barely to give it a drying in the open air. 
The ink taken out of its bag, and poured 
into a glafs coagulates and grows hard in a few 
days, when it feparates into a great many little 
pieces, which, ground upon a ftone, afford the 
moft elegant black paint. This convinces me 
that the Indians prepare their ink with nothing 
but this juice. I have even obferved that this 
fubftance, while in a liquid form, ftruck fo 
ftrong a black, that no wafhing could get it 
out; as particularly appeared in a black coat 
made of a flight dutch cloth, which had fome 
yellow ftains from aqua fortis: near the {to- 
mach, and between the folds of the pancreas, 
there lies a glandulous body, which runs to the 
throat, Tab. LI. Fig. V. 244; but lam as much 
in the dark, as to its ufe as to that of the ink- 
bag; tho’ I think it belongs to the organs of - 
generation; which I fhall hereafter take notice 
of, having firft defcribed the heart, brain, and 
nerves; and likewife faid fomething of this 
creature in particular. 
The heart of the Cuttle-fifh, contrary to 
what we obferve in moft other animals, lies in 
the abdomen, Tab. LI. Fig. 1. a. It is of an 
oblong triangular form, and in colour very like 
a mufcle that has neerly loft all its blood. Its 
external furface is tolerably {mooth and even, 
and its internal one fibrous, and divided into 
little hollows, and prominent columns. I 
could difcover but one ventricle in this organ. 
The Cuttle-fith’s heart has two auricles; 
for as the gills in this animal are placed on 
each fide of the body, and at a great diftance 
afunder, nature it feems, has thought pro- 
per that, inftead of one, this fith thould have 
two auricles 64, which I have here reprefented, 
2s they appeared on {eparating them from the 
blood-veffels of the gills cc. They are of a 
membranaceous texture, and, when blown up, 
are of the fame figure exactly with the defien 
I give of them. I have no more at prefent to 
fay of thefe parts; for they had almoft efcaped 
my notice when I happened to difcover them ; 
fo that to acquire a thorough knowledge of 
them, I fhould have had more fubjects; which 
are not to be obtained without great trouble 
-and expence, on account of the brutality and 
avarice of the fifhermen, who fell the produce 
of their hardeft labours for nothing in a man- 
ner, whilft they fix an extravagant price on 
fuch things as come in their way without their 
being at the pains to look for them. In the 
mean time I mutt obferve, that this fith’s heart 
having but one ventricle, at the fame time that 
it has two auricles in common with other ani- 
mals, is altogether fingular, and may well de- 
ferve to be confidered as a paradox. The blood 
’ deavoured to reprefent them one fide. 
of IN OM CoTIS. 45 
of the Cuttle-Sth is white, which is all I can 
fay of it, as I never examined it; tho’ I had 
refolved to fave fome of it in a glafs tube for 
microfcopical infpection, and in order to findout 
its analogy to the red blood of other animals. 
The great artery, which firit rifes from the 
heart d, is of the fame conftruétion with that 
of fifth; but it grows fomewhat fmaller in its 
courfe, and fends forth two pretty confider- 
able branches, which immediately difpatch 
lefs ones ee to the mutis, whilft the others 
run tothe mufcular parts of the reft of the 
body; fo that fome of thefe ramifications are 
feen plainly thro’ the tranfparent {kin under 
the two mufcles, which move the acetabula of 
the common excretory duct, ‘Tab. LI. Fig. t. 
y; from whence they extend to the gills and 
feveral other parts. After this the artery 
formed into one trunk, ftretches to the bafe 
ofthe brainy. Dab. LH. Bag. a. f, where it 
divides into various branches, fome of which 
run thro’ the cartilages, that enclofe the brains 
in place of a fkull, whilft the reft diftribute 
themfelves to the legs and other parts of the- 
body. But it is yet unknown what is the 
courfe of the veins in this creature, and 
whether it has like fithes a frft and fecond ar- 
tery, thefe are things I have not yet beén able 
to difcover; neither can I tell for certain, whe- 
ther or not the two veffels {pringing from the 
lower region of the heart itfelf gg, and here 
moft exactly reprefented by me after life, are 
really veins, as 1 think they are. But all thefe 
doubts may be cleared up by repeated dif 
fe€tions. | 
The brain of the Cuttle-fith is very fmall, and 
is plainly divided into a right and left portion, 
Pig.t1.4@ To fee this conveniently, itis proper to 
turn the animal on it’s belly, then open its head, 
and cut away with a very {harp knife the car- 
tilages that contain the brain, ufing great cau- 
tion for fear of injuring the nerves which iffue 
from it. The brain lies on the back part of the 
head, in a manner entirely buried in fat, which 
I have here for diftinG@tion fake reprefented by 
dots 4. Itis no eafy matter to feparate this 
fat on every fide without hurting the brain on 
account of it’s exceeding foft and delicate 
texture. The optick nerves cc are likewife at 
their origin furrounded with fat; but in their 
progrefs, after running thro’ the cartilages of 
the brain, they dilate into a confiderable 
knot dd, which feparating into two tubercles, 
as it were, fends thence towards the eyes a 
great number of nerves eeee, as I have en- 
‘This 
numerous body of nerves is interfeCted bya con- 
{picuous blood-veffel /, before they can reach 
the choroide tunic, or coat of the eye ; which is 
remarkable for its great variety of beautiful co- 
lours ; and is fo invefted with thefe little fibres, 
which embrace and furround the eye on every 
fide g, and have a great fhare in compofing 
it, that this ufeful organ muft receive great 
ftrength from fuch an acceffion. About the. 
upper region of the eye, where the iris thews 
itfelf in other animals, this coat forms in this 
Oo a 
