232 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



some persons, but Buckland is inclined to proclaim them 

 innocent of the great offence. " I don't see," he says, 

 "how a crab has the power of killing a live oyster his 

 nature and office is that of a scavenger. When, therefore, 

 the oyster has been killed and opened by whelk-tingle or a 

 five-finger, the crab will come, like a vulture to a dead 

 camel, to claim his share of the prize." 



All visitors to the sea-side who may have been bitten 

 with the aquarium mania must be familiar with those white 

 or brown spiral univalves, which may be seen in immense 

 numbers sticking to the rocks from which the tide has 

 receded. These are the molluscs popularly known as 

 "dog-whelks' or "whelk-tingles." The animal is the 

 Purpura lapillus of conchologists. It is extremely inju- 

 rious to oysters and destroys vast numbers. Frank Buck- 

 land says of them : 



"These whelk-tingles seem to find in a short space of 

 time where the oysters may be found in numbers ; for my 

 friend, Mr. Browning, tells me that not very long ago some 

 fishermen found a bed of oysters out in the mid-channel 

 deep sea. These oysters were, at the time when they were 

 found, not large enough to be dredged up and taken away 

 to lay down on private beds, so the dredgers determined to 

 leave them till they grew to the proper size. They had 

 not, however, calculated upon the whelk-tingle, for these 

 rascals, soon after the departure of the fishermen, found 

 out the bed as well as the fishermen, and were there before 

 them, killing every one of the oysters, leaving only the 

 ' clocks,' or empty shells ; and when the dredgermen 

 came next year to take up the oysters, they found nothing 

 but whelk-tingles and five-fingers, and no oysters. Rewards 

 are offered by the oyster proprietors for these whelk-tingles ; 

 they pay a shilling a bucket for them." 



