The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1901-02-22
MANY OCTOPUSES.
Countless Hordos Of Them IN
wade the Btltish Channel
THE HORRIBLE CREATURES.

Have Tentaclos that Spread Six
taen Feet and Have a
Suction Of Several ~.
!. I'M HORSE Fowsr.
A plague as horrrid in ita way as any
Of those from which tho anoiont Egyp.'
tians suffered has asssilod tho south
oosst Of England. Countless hordos
Of ootopuses- tho dovil fishes Of Victor
Hugo have invaded tho English Chan.
mel and havo awarmed along tho shores
Of Devon and Cornwall in suoh numbers
as to beggar belief. Travelling ab bout
in m marauding armies, thoy havo woll.
nigh destroyed tho local lobster and
cras. fisheries by dovouring those orus
taooans whole salo and on tho Frouch
sido Of tho strait, especially in tho Do
partmeat of Finistero, they ORC thrown
up on tho beaches by tho soa after
storms in suoh quantitios that their
loathsomo bodies have boon gathered
up and removed by hundreds Of cart
loads to prevent thom from ondangor-
ing tho public health by rotting.
Many of thoso oroaturos hayo spread
Of six feet or moro, the tentaolcs being
three foot in length and covered with
suckers as b 6 as 50cent pieoos. But
specimens havo boon soen very much
greater in size, and individuals arc
known sometiinos 60 attain measure.
mont Of sixteen foot from arm tip to
arm tip. That tho larger onos will
readily attack human beings is we'll
known, tho sucking discs with which
tho arms are provided holding tho vic
tim with forco equal to somo horse pow
or. Onoo fairly embraced by tho animal,
thoio is small chance for tho strongest;
man, unless ho is lucky enough to havo
big knife orr spear
The most surprising point about tho
plague referred TO- is that the octopus
has rarely boon soon hitherto in British
waters, 90 raroly, indeod, that during
many yoars past specimens could only
bo obtanod"f for aquaria in England at
long intervals, aud half sovereign was
freauontlylpaid. for small ono alivo.
lt:la ivory humorous in tho Mediterra.
naap, AID. ranges 6B far north as tho
south sid, of Tbs ESglish Channel,
which is its extromo limit ordinarily.
Soolnipgly tho present soourgo is duo to
asories of'hot summons and mild win,
ters. which have encouraged the propa-
cation of tho disgusting mclluek- by
nature a warm wator animal-and pos
eibly other conditions may have helped
it to multiply in unprecedented mum
bers. Its marked inoaeaso WAS frat no.
ticed along the Fronoh shores in 1893,
and reoont Investigations 60 to chow
that, after having exhausted tho avail
able food supply on that side of tho
strait, tho overplus migrated in swarms
across tho Channel to Eogland
First there was an abnormal multi
plioation Of tho poulps in the neighbor.
hood of tho Channol Island and along
tho FIonoh coast; then came overcrowd.
ing and Q CONSEQUENT scarcity of food,
aud finally armios Of ootopods advanced
across the Channol to the English shore.
Ono Of tho first signs Of its arrival upon;
tho shores Of Devon, and Cornwall was
tho appearono Of. great numbers of;
crabs which had peen driven into the
shallow waters by the marauding mol.
lusks. The latter ontor tho trsps of tho
iishermcn and destroy the loEJ Jtors and
crabs which havo been caught, aud
sometimes tho soinos arc Ito ally bur.
dencd With tho Rrithing, rulpy mon
sters.
The female octopus makos her most in
any sheltered and oonyen Mont hollow in
tn, rocks. Thcrc sho lays her eggs,
which in duo time hatch out young oo.
topods. One Of tho curious phenome:
ma incidental to tho recent plague has
tho finding Of immense plumbers Of
minute .poulps, not long hatchod, aud
hardly bigger than grains of rico Not
much is known as to their ratio of grow
tn but it is beloved that thoy do not
reach full size until thoy arc about s
years old.
The presonoo Of. tho devil fsho7 in
such great numbers /. in tho English
Uhanuol beiDg duo to tho unusual oon-
ditions, it is oxpeoted that tho plague
will not last very long. One severe
winter would probably destroy, major.
ity OF them. Meanwhile, however, de-.
vourlng immense numbers of oysters as
we'll as edible crustaoeans, ard scienti-
tic exports have been trying to find
somo means whereby the oncmy may
bc fought. In Plymouth Sound eKl
pcrimonts havo been mado recently in
fishing tor ho:poulps with pots suoh as
are used in tho Mediterranean. .
In the Mediterranean tho octopus ia
regularly tished fo1 aud "sed for food.
Pitcher shapod garthorn pots arc attach
cd 'at fixed intervals to long line and
lowered to tho bottom, tho cord to
which thoy arc fastened being buoyed
at.thesends'so that it may bo found
sgain. Evory few days tho line is haul.
cd up and it is not uncommon to find
SyGry 9np q of ahs tho pitchers occupied BY a
hq6le9 aQ4llimptab II ie,aa easy prey to many
2nemiasr ,apd ap,thie account it eagerly
takes tt!ak advantage ;ofany suitable sheltor.
Th@jugs, ~Aiok are, not baited in any
way, afford ideal places of ooncealmont,
the octopus occupying the interior and
spreading it's tontaclos from tho mouth.
Hence tho effoctlYeneasof those queer
traps .s' s+-'--'.S
Tho octopus has eight tonlaoles Of
equal length raidiating from it's contrai
mass and armed with suckers. It's hab-
it 10 to lurk in some dark granny in the
rocks, waiting for an unwary victim to
vonturo within roach. With threo or
four Of its arms it clings fast to rock,
while with tho remaining tontaolos wav.