New Britain herald., 1923-07-20
FICTION WRITERS
MAKE big MISTAKE
Paint Octopus as Man-EateT
When Really Harmless

San Francisco. July 20.--Devilhsh,
better known as ''polypus octopus
hangkongensis." are being caught at
Santa Cruz, California, like flies in a
trap, and the tentacles are being
shipped to fish markets In San
Francisco. New York, and other cities
where they are sliced and sold at from
so to so cents pound, according to
c. B. Florence, secretary of the Cali
fornia State Fish exchange here. Mr.
Florence says the sliced octopus ten
tacle makes a succulent table delicacy
when properly fried.
While fishermen emulate Victor
Hugo and other writer's of fiction by
telling of terrific battles with giant
deNlfish, usually ending by explaining
how the fish reached one of its eight
arms above the water and wrapped 1t
around the boat, breaking the craft
in two, Mr.. Florence and Professor
Harold Heath department of zoology,
Stamford university, California, state
that this is physically impossible. Pro-
lessor Heath describes the octopus as
being "of shy and retiring DISPOSE
tion."
THE devifish has no bones or no
structure Of any kind" says Mr.. Flor
ence. TT cannot swim, but can only
float on the water or propel itself on
the floor of the ocean by means of
fastening its suckers on a rock and
pulling itself along. Each of the
eight tentacles are covered with cup
shaped suckers and these form a
vacuum when fastened on an object.
Fisherman haul them out of the traps
with their bare hands and throw them
in boxes in a manner that is ex-
tremely undignifled to a fish that has
an age-old fictional reputation of
being a man-killer and boat-smasher.
In the picturesque food shops that
line the narrow streets of San Fran
cisco's colorful Chinatown, the tenta-
cles of the devilfsh may be seen hang
ing from hooks alongside many other
edibles that are strange to the native
American. On the floors of the
wholesale fish houses here the devil
fish may be seen stacked in jely-like
heaps, with tentacles, in some case,
extending ten feet across, five feet
from each side of the small, egg
shaped head.
The traps at Santa Cruz. where the
majority of the devilfsh are caught on
the Pacific coast, are built like fly
traps, only much larger, The traps
are made of wire, with cone shaped |
entrance for the. octopus to squeeze
through In order to reach the bait
fixed for him. He has no trouble in
entering the ever-narrowing funnel,
but finds 1t impossible to leave. Us
ually. fishermen state, two or more
are caught in the same trap.
Instead OF being a fighter, the devil
fish protects itself from attack by
changing its color and hiding from
its enemy, according to Professor
Heath. He says:
ITO agility and naturally acute
senses should be added their surpris-
ing ability to change their color to
harmonic with that of their sur
rounding, so that prey and enemies
alike are usually unaware of their
proximity. This color change Is based
upon minute elastic sacs filled with
pigment and supplied with muscles
for causing their expansion.
As deyilflsh crawls about on the
sea bottom its color can be seen to
change in twinkling from deep
chocolate through dull red and to
gray. If sand or rock is encountered
on the journey the skin is usually
thrown into Jumps and ridges, so that
under all conditions the body is prac-
fically invisible"
However, If Professor Hesth's opin-
ion of the devilfish as a food is heed
ed, the fish will continue to be eaten
by its celestial admirers and by a
limited few who crave the unusual.
Properly to place before the Ameri-
can epicurean a dish of tender octo-
pus. Professor Heath says, something
must be done ito destroy its rubber
like consistency"