50 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XI, 



In the Philippines they are regarded as good food and are 

 frequently sold in the local market. Numerous other related 

 smaller forms {Ccrithium spp.) are also sold, the price averaging 5 

 centavos per kilogram, or about 6 to 7 pies per pound (200 centavos 

 = one U.S. Dollar).^ 



The Knobbed Whelk (Melongena vespertilio Lamk.). 



This large whelk-like shell is not uncommon in saltwater 

 lagoons and shallow bays on the east coast, where it attains a 

 length of from 8 to 10 centimetres. Its pretty, regularly knobbed 

 shell, deep chestnut in tint, is often to be seen along the margin of 

 Ennur and Pulicat backwaters, but in many of these cases the 

 actual inhabitant is a hermit crab which has appropriated the shell 

 after the death of the original owner. 



Melongena is eaten freely in the Malay Archipelago according 

 to Seale ; ^ it is also to be seen exposed for sale in the Suez 

 markets, being common in the canal and neighbouring lagoons.^ 



[Since writing the above I find that the Knobbed-Whelk is 

 caught in considerable numbers along with the common chank 

 {Turbiiiella pyruni) \n thuri nets off the Tanjore and South Arcot 

 coasts, and that the flesh of both is eaten after boiling by the 

 Pattanavar villagers. Indeed the fisherfolk of these coasts are 

 accustomed to boil and eat the flesh of any large gastropods they 

 may catch in their nets ; among others the great Tun-shell {Dolium) 

 and the equally large Melon-shell {Melo indica) when caught — both 

 are rare — are placed in boiling water, the flesh extracted and eaten, 

 and the empty shells sold to the chank-shell lessee, who sells them 

 as curiosities in Madras and other large towns. The shells of the 

 knobbed-whelk are used in lime-burning to make whitewash lime.] 



Land Molluscs. 



For some reason which I have failed to penetrate, land molluscs 

 are not utilized for food except in the single instance of the great 

 king-snail, Ariot>li(Hita basileus, a denizen of the Cochin teak forests, 

 which is occasionally used by the semi-wild tribes that live on 

 forest produce. With this exception none of the Indian land-snails 



1 Alvin Seale— '•' Notes on Philippine Kdibk Molluscs" Philippine Journal of 

 Science^ Vol. VII, No. 4, p. 279, Manila, 1912. 



2 Alvin Seale, loc. cit., p. 279. 



^ Camliridge Natural History, Vol. " Molluscs", p. 102 



