THE WATERING-POT SHELL. 



355 



WE now come to the well-known Solenidse, or Razor-shells, so called on account of 

 their shape. 



These curious mollusks always live buried in the sand in an upright position, leaving only 

 an opening shaped like a key-hole, which corresponds with the two siphon tubes. Those 

 who are fond of examining the sand and rocks at low water will doubtlessly have been 

 startled and amused by little jets of water which spirt some few inches in height, but never 

 reappear. 



These are caused by the RAZOR-SHELL ; and if the locality whence the jet started be 

 watched, the little keyhole-like orifice will be seen. To catch the mollusks that emitted the 

 water is no easy task, but may be managed in two ways. The simplest but roughest method 

 is to take an iron rod hooked at the end, plunge it into the sand like a harpoon, and pull 

 it out smartly in an oblique direction, bringing with it the shell. This method, however 

 it may answer for those who only want the creature for the 

 purpose of eating the animal, or using it as bait, is by no 

 means suited to those who wish to capture the inhabitant 

 uninjured and to experimentalize upon it. These, therefore, 

 must employ a different plan. 



IN the next family, called Gaper Shells, because the valves 

 when closed do not unite completely, but leave a moderately 

 wide aperture at the hinder part, the shell is strong, thick, 

 and opaque ; the foot is comparatively small, and the siphons 

 are united and retractile. 



The GAPER SHELL inhabits sandy and muddy shores, and 

 is especially fond of frequenting the brackish waters of river- 

 mouths, where the streams are sure to bring with them a soft 

 deposit of mud and sand. The species which is represented 

 in the engraving burrows nearly a foot in depth into the sand, 

 and is able to breathe and gain subsistence by the long siphons, 

 which just protrude above the surface. In looking at this 

 animal, and observing its habits, the entomologist is forcibly 

 reminded of the manner in which the rat-tailed maggot, i. e., 

 the larva of Eristalis tenax, the great bee-like fly, with 

 enormous eyes, is in the habit of hovering for a moment over 

 a flower or leaf, settling for a moment, and then darting off 

 again with lightning speed. Like the Gaper Shell, this larva 

 spends its life deeply buried in the mud, carrying on the 

 business of respiration by means of a long tube which, like 

 the siphon of the mollusk, can be retracted or extended at will. 



The Gaper Shell is much sought after in many places as 

 an article of food, not only by man, but by birds and beasts, 

 such as the walrus and the blue fox. 



UAI'EK SHELL. Mya arendria. 



THE nearly cylindrical WATERING-POT SHELL is a curious creature found in some of the 

 hotter seas. 



This species is a good example of a family termed the Gastrocluenidae, in which the valves 

 are thin, gaping, and when adult, often connected with a rather long calcareous tube, as in 

 the present instance. 



The Watering-pot Shell derives its name from the curious perforated disc which closes its 

 lower extremity, and bears no small resemblance to the rose of a watering-pot. In allusion to 

 the same peculiarity, the French writers call the animal by the name of Arrosoir. All the 

 species are burrowers, some into coral, some into stone, some into shells, and others into sand, 

 as is the case with the creature Avhich we are now examining. From the other end of the tube 

 the siphons can be protruded to some extent, and withdrawn when the animal is alarmed. 



