Glimpses of the animate world; or, Science and literature of natural history, for school and home . it lays eggs, which are large, and generallyfound in clusters. Fishermen call them sea-grapes. G. The locomotion of the devil-fish is as easy on land asin the water. They have been known frequently to run up perpendicularcliffs, two hundredfeet high, as easilyas the fly runs up awall, the machineryof attachment be-ing very are said tomove as fast onland as a man canrun, and they fre-quently pursue their prey out of the sea, though on theland they are far more timid than in the water
Glimpses of the animate world; or, Science and literature of natural history, for school and home . it lays eggs, which are large, and generallyfound in clusters. Fishermen call them sea-grapes. G. The locomotion of the devil-fish is as easy on land asin the water. They have been known frequently to run up perpendicularcliffs, two hundredfeet high, as easilyas the fly runs up awall, the machineryof attachment be-ing very are said tomove as fast onland as a man canrun, and they fre-quently pursue their prey out of the sea, though on theland they are far more timid than in the water. The vul-nerable portion of the octopus is the neck, and fishermenand others, who know their habits when attacked, alwaysstrive, if possible, to seize them by the throttle-valve, whenthey are easily killed. This is comparatively easy on land,but nearly impossible in the water. 7. The octopus grows to an immense size, when itmerits its name of devil-fish. Some years since one wascast ashore at Newfoundland with arms fifty feet in the largest one of which we have an authentic account. HIGHER LIFE IN WATERS. 89 was the one encountered near the Madeira Islands by theFrench steamer Alecton. This monster was estimated tobe fifty feet long without reckoning its eight formidablearms, covered with suckers, and about twenty feet in cir-cumference at its largest part, the head terminating inmany arms of enormous size, the other extremity in twofleshy lobes or fins of great size, the weight of the wholebeing estimated at four thousand pounds ; the flesh wassoft, glutinous, and of reddish-brick color. 8. The commandant, wishing in the interests of scienceto secure the monster, actually engaged it in battle. Nu-merous shots were aimed at it, but the balls traversed itsflaccid and glutinous mass without causing it any vital in-jury. But after one of these attacks the waves were ob-served to be covered with foam and blood, and, singularthing, a strong odor of musk was inhaled by th
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