The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1923-08-30
OCTOPUS is SHY,
NOT MAN-KILLER
Sliced TentacIes Of "DeyiIfish,"
Caught Like Flies in Trap,
Table DeIicacy.

San Francisco. -Devildsh, better
known as "polypus octopus bongkong-
enas,' are, being caught at Santa Cruz,
Caa-. like files Ia trap and the ten
tacIes are being shipped to fish mar
kets in San Francisco, New York and
other cities, where they are sliced and
sold at from 90 to go cents a pound,
according to G. B. Florence, secretary
of the California state nsh exchange
here.
Mr.. Florence says the sliced octopus
tentacle makes succulent table DELI
cAcy when properly fried.
While fishermen emulate Victor
Hugo and other writer's Of fiction by
telling Of terrific battles with giant
devilfsh. usually ending by explaining
how the fish reached one of it's eight
arms above the water and wrapped It
around the boat, breaking the craft In
two, Mr.. Florence and Prof Harold
Heath. department Of zoology, Stan
ford university, California, state that
this is physically impossible. Pro-
fessor Heath describes the octopus SIS
being "of shy and retiring DISPOSE
tom
THE devilfsh has no bones or no
structure Of any kind" says Mr.. Flor
ence. at cannot swim, but can only
float on the water, or propel itself on
the floor Of the ocean by means OF fas-
tenfng It's suckers on rock and pull
inc YteoIf osorn
Don't Brighten Fishermen.
Each of the eight tentacles Is Gov
cred with cup-shaped suckers. and
these form q vacuum when fastened
on an object Fishermen haul them
out Of the traps with their bare heads
and throw them in boxes in a manner
that is extremely undignified to a fish
that has an age-old fictional reputation
Of being man killer and boat
smasher"
In the picturesque food shops that
line the narrow streets of San Fran
cisco's colorful Chinatown, the ten
tacies of the devilfsh may be seen
hanging 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 jeIiyilke
heaps. with tentacles, In some cases,
extending ten feet across, i've 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 a cone-shaped en-
trance for the octopus TO squeeze
through In order to reach the bait.
Changes Color in Moment.
Instead Of being a fighter. the devil
6sh protects itself from attack by
changing its color and hiding from It's
enemy, according to Professor Heath.
He says:
TO agility and naturally acute
senses should be added their surpria-
ing ability to change their color to har-
monize with that Of their surround
ings, 90 that prey and enemies alike
are usually unaware Of their prox-
unity. This color change Ia based upon
minute elastic sacs filed with pigment
and supplied with muscles for csussng
their expansion.
"As devilfish crewis about On the
sea bottom its color can be seen t.
change IN twinkling from deep choco-
late through dull red and 70 gray. Fl
sand or rock 10 encountered On me
journey the skin is usually throws
Into humps and ridges. % thar un6s<
all conditions the body II practically
invisihie.s