FAUNA OF THE SHELL-MOUNDS. 235 



In the Lake-habitations of the Stone Age in Switzerland, 

 grains of wheat and barley, and even pieces of bread, or rather 

 biscuit, have been found. It does not, however, appear that 

 the men of the Kjokkenmoddings had any knowledge of agri- 

 culture, no traces of grain of any sort having been hitherto 

 discovered. The only vegetable remains found in them have 

 been burnt pieces of wood, and some charred substance, 

 referred by M. Forchhammer to the Zostera marina, a sea- 

 plant which was, perhaps, used in the production of salt. 



The four species which are the most abundant in the shell- 

 mounds are : 



The oyster, Ostrea edulis, L. 

 The cockle, Cardium edule, L. 

 The mussel, Mytilus edulis, L., and 

 The periwinkle, Littorina littorea, L. 



all four of which are still used as food for man. Other species 

 occur more rarely, namely, 



Nassa reticulata, L. 



* 



Buccinum undatum, L. 

 Venus pullastra, Mont. 

 Helix nemoralis, Mull. 

 Venus aurea, Gm. 

 Trigonella plana, Da. C. 

 Littorina obtusata, L. 

 Helix strigella, Mii.ll., and 

 Carocolla lapicida, L. 



It is remarkable that the specimens of the first seven species 

 are well developed, and decidedly larger than any now found 

 in the neighbourhood. This is especially the case with the 

 Cardium edule and Littorina littorea, while the oyster ha& 

 entirely disappeared, and even in the Kattegat itself occurs 

 only in a few places ; a result which may, perhaps, be partly 

 owing to the quantities caught by fishermen. Some oysters 



