150 



SEA-SHORE LIFE 



spot fit closely over the stone or dead shell to which they are 

 attached, the attachment being made very secure by a stony cement 



that is secreted by the 

 foot. The eggs are laid 

 in ronnd capsules 

 which are attached to 

 a minute cord in grape- 

 like clusters. Each 

 little capsule contains 

 a large number of eggs 

 floating in a nutrient 

 jelly. From two to 

 twenty thousand eggs 

 are laid, and are fast- 

 ened to the ground by 

 the side of the animal 

 so as to be covered by 

 the shell itself. The l)reeding season extends from early summer 

 until about August loth. Our species range from the West Indies 

 to Nova Scotia, and are very comuKjn in Long Island Sound. 



Crepidula fornlcata (Fig. 112 J, the largest species, is found 

 attached to horse-shoe crabs, and also to stones and dead shells. A 

 succession of individuals being often seen fastened one to the shell 

 of the other with the last shell in the line fastened to a stone or 



I^tg. in; Eel Grass, at low tide, covered with Periwinkles. 

 Annisquam, Mass. 



Ftjr. 112; DECKER SHELL. Long Island Sound. 



Other firm anchorage. In these strings of shells the heads are 

 usually pointed all in the same direction. The young hatch as 



