Chaps. 48-53.

Chap. 48. (30.)—The Various Kinds of Polypi; Their Shrewdness.

Belonging to the genus of polypi is the animal known as the ozæna, [From ὄζω, “to emit an odour.” This was a small kind of polypus.] being so called from the peculiarly strong smell exhaled by the head; [Cuvier remarks that, in this Chapter, there are many details relative to the polypus, that have not been observed by modern naturalists; but they may have been observed by the Greeks, upon whose shores and islands the animal was much more frequently to be found than in the west of Europe.] in consequence of which, the murænæ [Oppian, Halieut. B. ii. l. 260, describes the battles of these animals with the polypus. He also says, B. iii. c. 198, that they are attracted by the smell of the flesh of the polypus, and so are easily taken.] pursue it with the greatest eagerness. The polypi keep themselves concealed for two months in the year; they do not live beyond two [Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. ix. c. 59.] years, and always die of consumption, the females even sooner, [Oppian, Halieut. B. i. l. 551, says, that they hardly live a year; and Ælian, Hist. Anim. B. vi. c. 28, states to a similar effect.] and mostly after bringing forth. I must not omit here the observations which L. Lucullus, the proconsul of Bætica, made with reference to the polypus, and which Trebius Niger, one of his suite, has published. He says that it is remarkably fond of shell-fish, and that these, the moment that they feel themselves touched by it, close their valves, and cut off the feelers of the polypus, thus making a meal at the expense of the plunderer. Shell-fish are destitute of sight, and, indeed, all other sensations but those which warn them of hunger and the approach of danger. Hence it is, that the polypus lies in ambush [Basil attributes a similar craftiness to the crab; Hexaem. Homil. vii.] till the fish opens its shell, immediately upon which, it places within it a small pebble, taking care, at the same time, to keep it from touching the body of the animal, lest, by making some movement, it should chance to eject it. Having made itself thus secure, it attacks its prey, and draws out the flesh, while the other tries to contract itself, but all in vain, in consequence of the separation of the shell, thus effected by the insertion of the wedge. So great is the instinctive shrewdness in animals that are otherwise quite remarkable for their lumpish stupidity.

In addition to the above, the same author states, that there is not an animal in existence, that is more dangerous for its powers of destroying a human being [The fishermen at the present day, upon the coast of Normandy, say that the polypus, which they call the chatrou, is a most formidable enemy to swimmers and divers; for when it has embraced any of the limbs with its tentacles, it adheres with such tenacity, that it is quite impossible for a person to disengage himself, or to move any of his limbs.] when in the water. Embracing his body, it counteracts his struggles, and draws him under with its feelers and its numerous suckers, when, as often is the case, it happens to make an attack upon a shipwrecked mariner or a child. If, however, the animal is turned over, it loses all its power; for when it is thrown upon the back, the arms open of themselves.

The other particulars, which the same author has given, appear still more closely to border upon the marvellous. At Carteia, [In Spain; see B. iii. c. 3. Ælian, Hist. Anim. B. vi. c. 13, tells a similar story about a polypus at Puteoli.] in the preserves there, a polypus was in the habit of coming from the sea to the [“Lacus;” large tubs used in the process of pickling. This story, Cuvier observes, is only surpassed by those told by the Norwegians relative to the “kraken” of their seas, which, according to some versions of the fable, is a polypus of such vast size, that sailors have sometimes mistaken it for an island.] pickling-tubs that were left open, and devouring the fish laid in salt there—for it is quite astonishing how eagerly all sea-animals follow even the very smell of salted condiments, so much so, that it is for this reason, that the fishermen take care to rub the inside of the wicker fish-kipes [“Nassis.” The “nassa” was a contrivance for catching fish by the junction of osier or willow rods. It was probably made in the shape of a large bottle with a narrow mouth, and placed with the mouth facing the current. Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. iv. c. 8, states, that the fishermen, when they were desirous of bringing the fish out of their holes, were in the habit of rubbing the mouth of the holes with salted flesh.] with them.—At last, by its repeated thefts and immoderate depredations, it drew down upon itself the wrath of the keepers of the works. Palisades were placed before them, but these the polypus managed to get over by the aid of a tree, [Oppian, Halieut. B. i. c. 310, tells a story of a polypus, of the ozæna species, that was in the habit of climbing trees, and plundering the fruit.] and it was only caught at last by calling in the assistance of trained dogs, which surrounded it at night, as it was returning to its prey; upon which, the keepers, awakened by the noise, were struck with alarm at the novelty of the sight presented. First of all, the size of the polypus was enormous beyond all conception; and then it was covered all over with dried brine, and exhaled a most dreadful stench. Who could have expected to find a polypus there, or could have recognized it as such under these circumstances? They really thought that they were joining battle with some monster, for at one instant, it would drive off the dogs by its horrible fumes, [“Afflatu terribili.” This, as Hardouin says, may either mean its bad smell, or stinking water, ejected from its canal.] and lash at them with the extremities of its feelers; while at another, it would strike them with its stronger arms, giving blows with so many clubs, as it were; and it was only with the greatest difficulty that it could be dispatched with the aid of a considerable number of three-pronged fish-spears. The head of this animal was shewn to Lucullus; it was in size as large as a cask of fifteen amphoræ, and had a beard, [Its arms or feelers. The amphora, as a measure of capacity, held about nine English gallons.] to use the expressions of Trebius himself, which could hardly be encircled with both arms, full of knots, like those upon a club, and thirty feet in length; the suckers or calicules, [“Caliculis;” literally, “little glasses.” Its “acetabula,” or suckers, are so called from their peculiar shape.] as large as an urn, resembled a basin in shape, while the teeth again were of a corresponding largeness: its remains, which were carefully preserved as a curiosity, weighed seven hundred pounds. The same author also informs us, that specimens of the sæpia and the loligo have been thrown up on the same shores of a size fully as large: in our own seas [Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. iv. c. 2, says the same; but, as Hardouin observes, he must mean the Ionian sea.] the loligo is sometimes found five cubits in length, and the sæpia, two. These animals do not live beyond two years.

Chap. 49.—The Sailing Nauplius.

Mucianus also relates that he had seen, in the Propontis, another curious resemblance to a ship in full sail. [Cuvier says, that this is only a reproduction, under another name, and with other details, of the story of the nautilus or argonauta; but under the impression that the polyp is not the animal which owns the shell, but is only its associate. It has also been asserted in modern times, he says, that the polyp has seized this shell by force from some other animal, in order to convert it into its boat; but the opinion has not been adopted, as the shell of the nautilus has been never found in the possession of any other animal.] There is a shell-fish, he says, with a keel, just like that of the vessel which we know by the name of acatium, [Probably borrowed from the Greeks, who called it ἄκατος. It is supposed to have been a small boat, similar to the Roman “scapha;” like our “skiff” probably.] with the poop curving inwards, and a prow with the beak [The “rostrum” of the ancient ships of war.] attached. In this shell-fish there lies concealed also an animal known as the nauplius, which bears a strong resemblance to the sæpia, and only adopts the shell-fish as the companion of its pastimes. There are two modes, he says, which it adopts in sailing; when the sea is calm, the voyager hangs down its arms, [“Palmulis.” This word also means the blade or broad part of an oar; in which sense it may, perhaps, be here taken.] and strikes the water with a pair of oars as it were; but if, on the other hand, the wind invites, it extends them, employing them by way of a helm, and turning the mouth of the shell to the wind. The pleasure experienced by the shell-fish is that of carrying the other, while the amusement of the nauplius consists in steering; and thus, at the same moment, is an instinctive joy felt by these two creatures, devoid as they are of all sense, unless, indeed, a natural antipathy to man—for it is a well-known fact, that to see them thus sailing along, is a bad omen, and that it is portentous of misfortune to those who witness it.

Chap. 50.—Sea-Animals, Which Are Enclosed with a Crust; the Cray-fish.

The cray-fish, [“Locusta;” literally, the “locust” of the sea. By this name is meant, Cuvier says, the “langouste” of the French (our cray-fish), which has no large forcipes, and has a thorax covered with spines; the Palinurus quadricornis of the naturalists. This is clearly the κάραβος of Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c. 23; for we generally find it thus translated by Pliny, when he borrows anything from that philosopher. We know that the body of this animal was spiny, from the fact that Tiberius, as we learn from Suetonius, cruelly caused the face of a fisherman who had offended him, to be rubbed with a locusta.] which belongs to that class of animals which is destitute of blood, is protected by a brittle crust. This creature keeps itself concealed for five months, and the same is the case with crabs, which disappear for the same period. At the beginning of spring, however, they both [Aristotle, and Theophrastus, in his “Treatise on Animals which conceal themselves,” state to a similar effect.] of them, after the manner of snakes, throw off old age, and renew their coverings. While other animals swim on the water, cray-fish float with a kind of action like creeping. They move onwards, if there is nothing to alarm [Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. viii. c. 4, states to a similar effect.] them, in a straight line, extending on each side their horns, which are rounded at the point by a ball peculiar to them; but, on the other hand, the moment they are alarmed, they straighten these horns, and proceed with a sidelong motion. They also use [Aristotle, loc. cit., and Ælian, Hist. Anim. B. ix. c. 25, state to the same effect.] these horns when fighting with each other. The cray-fish is the only animal that has the flesh in a pulpy state, and not firm and solid, unless it is cooked alive in boiling water.

(31.) The cray-fish frequents rocky places, the crab [Hardouin says, that this must be only understood of the kind of crab known as the “astacus;” that being the one mentioned by Aristotle, in the passage from which Pliny has borrowed.] spots which present a soft surface. In winter they both choose such parts of the shore as are exposed to the heat of the sun, and in summer they withdraw to the shady recesses of deep inlets of the sea. All fish of this kind suffer from the cold of winter, but become fat during autumn and spring, and more particularly during the full moon; for the warmth of that luminary, as it shines in the night, renders [He mentions, in B. ii. c. 41, the effect which the rays of the moon have upon the growth of shell-fish.] the temperature of the weather more moderate.

Chap. 51.—The Various Kinds of Crabs; the Pinnotheres, the Sea Urchin, Cockles, and Scallops.

There are various kinds of crabs, [Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. iv. c. 2, has a somewhat similar passage. “The kinds of crabs are numerous, and not easily to be enumerated. First, there are those known as maiæ, then the paguri, which are also called ‘heracleotici;’ and, after them, the river crabs. There are others, again, of a smaller size, and which, for the most part, are known by no name in particular.”] known as carabi, [This is, no doubt, the cray-fish, the same animal that has been called the “locusta” in the preceding Chapter. Aristotle states, B. iv. c. 8, that the carabus has the thorax rough and spiny. It is most probable, that it is from this name that our word “crab” is derived.] astaci, [Cuvier says, that the astacus, which is very accurately described by Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. iv. c. 8, is indisputably the homard of the French (the common lobster of the English); the Cancer gammarius of Linnæus. Pliny, in another place, B. xxx. c. ii., describes it himself under the name of elephantus.] maiæ, [Cuvier remarks, that according to Aristotle, B. iv. c. 2, the maiæ are in the number of the καρκίνοι, or crabs that have a short tail concealed beneath the body, being those of the largest kind. The same philosopher, De Part. Anim. B. iv. c. 8, adds, that these have also short feet and a hard shell. Cuvier says, that many writers have applied this name to the crabs at the present day belonging to the genus inachus, and more especially the Cancer maia of Linnæus. He is more inclined, however, to think that the maia was the common French crab, known as poupart or tourtue, the Cancer pagurus of Linnæus.] paguri, [Hardouin says, that these are the same that the Venetians were in the habit of calling “cancro poro,” the last word being a corruption, as he thinks, of pagurus. Aristotle says, loc. cit., that they were crabs of middling size.] heracleotici, [Or Heracleotic crabs. Aristotle says, De Partib. Anim. B. iv. c. 8, that these crabs had shorter feet and thinner than those of the maiæ. Cuvier suggests, that these may be the commonest kind of crab, the Cancer mænas of Linnæus, or a species very similar.] lions, [“Leones.” This name is not found in Aristotle’s account, but it is found in Athenæus, B. iii. c. 106; and in Ælian, Hist. Anim. B. xiv. c. 9. According to Diphilus, as quoted by Athenæus, it was of larger size than the astacus. Ælian describes it as more slender in shape than the cray-fish, and partly of a bluish colour, and with very large forcipes, in which it resembles, Cuvier says, the homard of the French. It is possible, however, he adds, that it may have been only a second name given to the astacus already mentioned; as both Pliny and Ælian, who were not critical observers, are very liable to make errors in names.] and others of less note. The carabus differs [Aristotle, Cuvier observes, states the carcini, or crabs, have no tail, the fact being that the tail is extremely small, and is concealed, as it were, in a furrow in the under part of the body. The cray-fish, on the other hand, has a large and broad tail.] from other crabs, in having a tail: in Phœnicia they are called hippoi, [Ἱπποὶ. The more common reading is ἱππεῖς, “horsemen.” Cuvier thinks, that in all probability, these are a kind of crab with very long legs, vulgarly known as the sea-spider; the Macropodia and the Leptopodia of Linnæus.] or horses, being of such extraordinary swiftness, that it is impossible to overtake them. Crabs are long-lived, and have eight feet, all of which are bent obliquely. In the female [Hardouin remarks, that Aristotle says this only of the carabi, or cray-fish, and not of the crabs in general; and that, on the contrary, in B. v. c. 7, he says, that in the crab the male does not differ in conformation from the female, except in the opercule. There seems, in reality, to be no foundation for the statement here made by Pliny.] the first foot is double, in the male single; besides which, the animal has two claws with indented pincers. The upper part only of these fore-feet is moveable, the lower being immoveable: the right claw is the largest in them all. [Both in the crab and the cray-fish, Aristotle says.] Sometimes they assemble together in large bodies; [Ælian, Hist. Anim. B. vii. c. 24, calls this kind of crab δρομίας, the “runner,” from the great distance it is known to travel. He says, that they meet together, coming in one by one, at a certain bay in the Thracian Bosporus, where those who have arrived wait for the others; and that on finding that the waves of the Euxine are sufficiently violent to sweep them away, they unite in a dense body, and then waiting till the waters have retired, make a passage across the straits.] but as they are unable to cross the mouth of the Euxine, they turn back again and go round by land, and the road by which they travel is to be seen all beaten down with their foot-marks.

The smallest crab of any is that known as the pinnotheres, [Cuvier remarks, that Hardouin is correct in considering this the same as the crab known in France as Bernard the Hermit (our hermit-crab), the Cancer Bernardus of Linnæus, a species of the genus now known as the Pagur. This animal hides its tail and lower extremities in the empty shells of whelks, or other univalves. Cuvier suggests that our author committed a slip of the pen, in using the word oyster here for shell-fish. This is the καρκίνιον, probably, of Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. v. c. 15, and De Part. Anim. B. iv. c. 8; and it is most probable that, as Cuvier states, the real πιννοτήρης of Aristotle, Hist. Anim. B. iv. c. 4, and B. v. c. 14, was another of the crustacea, of which Pliny speaks under the same name in c. 66. This last is a small crab, that lives in the shells of bivalves, such as mussels, &c., but not when empty. See the Notes to c..] and hence it is peculiarly exposed to danger; its shrewdness, however, is evinced by its concealing itself in the shell of the oyster; and as it grows larger, it removes to those of a larger size.

Crabs, when alarmed, go backwards as swiftly as when moving forwards. They fight with one another like rams, butting at each other with their horns. They have [This circumstance is more fully treated of in B. xxxii. c. 19.] a mode of curing themselves of the bites of serpents. It is said, [Our author speaks rather more guardedly here than usual; and Hardouin seems almost inclined to believe the story. Ovid also alludes to this story in the Met. B. xv. l. 370, et seq. “If you take off the bending claws from the crab of the sea-shore, and bury the rest in the earth, a scorpion will come forth from the part so buried, and will threaten with its crooked tail.”] that while the sun is passing through the sign of Cancer, the dead bodies of the crabs, which are lying thrown up on the shore, are transformed into serpents.

To the same class [Of animals covered with a thin crust.] also belongs the sea-urchin, [The sea-urchin, the herisson de mer of the French, and the Echinus of Linnæus.] which has spines in place of feet; [Cuvier remarks, that it does not use the spines or prickles for this purpose, but that it moves by means of tentacules, which it projects from between its prickles.] its mode of moving along is to roll like a ball, hence it is that these animals are often found with their prickles rubbed off. Those among them which have the longest spines of all, are known by the name of echinometræ, [The Echinus cidaris of Linnæus; with a small body, and very long spines. The name, according to Hardouin, is from the Greek, meaning the “mother of the echini.”] while at the same time their body is the very smallest. They are not all of them of the same glassy colour; in the vicinity of Torone [See B. iv. c. 17.] they are white, [The same, Cuvier says, with the Echinus spatagus of Linnæus.] with very short spines. The eggs [Not “ova,” Cuvier says, but “ovaria” rather. Each urchin has five “ovaria,” arranged in the form of stars. They are supposed to be hermaphroditical, but there is considerable doubt on the subject.] of all of them are bitter, and are five in number; the mouth is situate in the middle of the body, and faces the earth. [The mouth of the sea-urchin, armed with five teeth, is generally turned to the ground, Cuvier says.] It is said [Plutarch, in his Book “on the Instincts of Animals,” Oppian, Halieut. B. ii. l. 225, and Ælian, Hist. Anim. B. vii. c. 44, all mention this.] that these creatures foreknow the approach of a storm at sea, and that they take up little stones with which they cover [This idea probably arose from the fact of their being sometimes found with stones sticking between their spines or prickles.] themselves, and so provide a sort of ballast against their volubility, for they are very unwilling by rolling along to wear away their prickles. As soon as seafaring persons observe this, they at once moor their ship with several anchors.

(32.) To the same genus [The thin-crusted animals.] also belong both land and water [Known to us as periwinkles.] snails, which thrust the body forth from their abode, and extend or contract two horns, as it were. They are without eyes, [It is now known, thanks to the research of Swammerdam, that the black points at the extremity of the great horns of the land snail, or Helix terrestris, and at the base of them in the water snail, are eyes.] and have, therefore, to feel their way, by means of these horns.

(33.) Sea-scallops [“Pectines in mari;” literally, “sea-combs.” The French still call them by a similar name, “peignes.” They are known also in France as “coquilles de St. Jaques,” or St. James’s shells; probably, because worn by pilgrims who had visited the shrine of St. Jago, at Compostella. Indeed, the scallop shell was a favourite emblem with the palmers and pilgrims of the middle ages, who were in the habit of wearing it on their return in the hat.] are considered to belong to the same class, which also conceal themselves during severe frosts and great heats; the onyches, [He Latinizes the Greek name, calling it “unguis”—“a nail;” and, according to Varro, they were so called from their resemblance to the human nail. Pliny mentions them again in c. 87 of this Book, and in B. xxxii. c. 53, where he states that they are also called “dactyli,” or “fingers.” Cuvier says, that under this name are meant the pholades, a bivalve shell-fish, which give forth a very brilliant light.] too, which shine in the dark like fire, and in the mouth even while being eaten.

Chap. 52.—Various Kinds of Shell-fish.

Let us now pass on to the murex [Univalves, with a thick spinous shell.] and various kinds of shell-fish, which have a stronger shell, and in which Nature, in her sportive mood, has displayed a great variety—so many are the various hues of their tints, so numerous are their shapes, flat, [The flat shell-fish, for instance, according to Cuvier, of the genus patella, or lepas.] concave, [Other fish of the genus patella, only more concave; the haliotes, for instance.] long, [Forming a prolonged cone, Cuvier says, like the cerites.] crescent-shaped, [The mouth of which is shaped like a crescent; such as the helices, Cuvier says.] rounded into a globe, cut [The nerites, Cuvier says, which are cut into two hemispheres.] through into a semi-globe, arched in the back, smooth, rough, indented, streaked, the upper part spirally wreathed, the edge projecting in a sharp point, the edge wreathed outwards, [Such as many of the whelks, Cuvier says.] or else folding inwards. [The whelks that have the edge turned inwards, so that one lip appears to fold under the other.] And then, too, there are the various distinctions [As no two naturalists might probably agree as to the exact meaning of the terms here employed, it has been thought advisable to give the passage as it appears in the original: “Jam distinctione virgulata, crinita, crispa, cuniculatim, pectinatim divisa, imbricatim undata, cancellatim reticulata, in obliquum, in rectum expansa, densata, porrecta, sinuata, brevi nodo legatis, toto latere connexis, ad plausum apertis, ad buccinum recurvis.”] of rayed shells, long-haired [In allusion, probably, to the streaks or lines drawn upon the exterior of the shell.] shells, wavy-haired shells, channelled shells, pectinated shells, imbricated shells, reticulated shells, shells with lines oblique or rectilinear, thick-set shells, expanded shells, tortuous shells, shells the valves of which are united by one small knot, shells which are held together all along one side, shells which are open as if in the very act of applauding, [With the mouth wide open, like that of a person in the act of applauding.] and shells which wind, [By “ad buccinum recurvis,” he probably alludes to a whelk, or fish with a turbinated shell, resembling the larger conch or trumpet shell, which Triton is sometimes described as blowing.] resembling a conch. The fish of this class, known as the shells of Venus, [Probably some of the Cypræa; which have been already alluded to in Note 6 to c. 41 of the present Book. Cuvier remarks, that there are many of the univalve shell-fish that float on the surface of the water, but none, with the exception of the argonauta or nautilus, are known to employ a membranous sail.] are able to navigate the surface of the deep, and, presenting to the wind their concave side, catch the breeze, and sail along on the surface of the sea. Scallops are also able to leap [Cuvier says, that he has been informed that the scallop, by suddenly bringing together the valves of its shell, is able to make a bound, and leap above the surface of the water.] and fly above the surface of the water, and they sometimes employ their shell by way of a bark.

Chap. 53. (34.)—What Numerous Appliances of Luxury Are Found in the Sea.

But why mention such trifles as these, when I am sensible that no greater inroads have been made upon our morals, and no more rapid advances have been made by luxury, than those effected through the medium of shell-fish? Of all the elements that exist, the sea is the one that costs the dearest to the belly; seeing that it provides so many kinds of meats, so many dishes, so many exquisite flavours derived from fish, all of which are valued in proportion to the danger undergone by those who have caught them.

(35.) But still, how insignificant is all this when we come to think of our purple, our azure, [Ajasson says, that the words “purpuras, conchylia,” here signify not the fish themselves, but the various tints produced by them; the purpura and the conchylium being, in fact, exactly the same fish, though, as will be explained in c. 60 of the present Book, by various modes of treatment, various colours were extracted from them. See also B. xxi. c. 22.] and our pearls; it was not enough, forsooth, for the spoils of the sea to be thrust down the gullet—but they must be employed as well to adorn the hands, the ears, the head, the whole body, in fact, and that of the men pretty nearly as much as the women. What has the sea to do with our clothes? [Dalechamps notices here an ancient proverb, which says, “Qui nare vult, se exuit.” “He who wishes to swim, takes off his clothes.”] What is there in common between waves and billows and a sheep’s fleece? This one element ought not to receive us, according to ordinary notions, except in a state of nakedness. Let there be ever so strong an alliance between it and the belly, on the score of gluttony, still, what can it possibly have to do with the back? It is not enough, forsooth, that we are fed upon what is acquired by perils, but we must be clothed, too, in a similar way; so true it is, that for all the wants of the body, that which is sought at the expense of human life, is sure to please us the most.