Page:Natural History, Mollusca.djvu/81

Rh enclosed within it renders the whole lighter than water.

The Cuttle is about a foot in length, of an oblong form. Its colour is a dull, dirty white, mottled and spotted with those changing veins of fluid, already described, of a reddish brown hue. The texture of the body is soft and flabby, but, notwithstanding its unpleasing appearance, it forms a wholesome and agreeable dish wherever prejudice does not preclude its use. When well cooked the flesh is tender and digestible, bearing considerable resemblance to tripe.

I have already alluded to the inky fluid secreted in an internal reservoir within the body of the Cuttle. It is poured forth in copious quantity from a funnel-like tube beneath the mantle, and is intended as a means of concealment, and of annoyance to its pursuers. "A gallant officer who was inconsiderately collecting shells in a pair of immaculate white trowsers, came suddenly upon