34 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 



lines more marked and tapers to both ends. The adult is about an 

 inch in length. It has, like other Gasteropod Molluscs, a "tongue ''' 

 or lingual ribbon, set with sharp siliceous teeth. This- 

 ribbon can be moved back and forth so that its acts- 

 like a file. It is so arranged that it moves in the arc 

 of a vertical circle, and by its use the animal can bore a 

 clean round hole through an Oyster-shell : then by means- 

 of its proboscis it can suck out the juices of its victim. 

 It deposits its eggs in short-stalked capsules on the 

 under surfaces of stones. It lives chiefly upon Oj^sters, 

 but to some extent upon other Mollu.sca. It is said 



not to attack the Mussels. 

 Fig. 5. — Buccin- 



um cinereum. EcoNOxMiCrt. This Mollusc is of importance 

 Natural size. ^^ ^^^^^ ^^ accouiit of its destructiveiiess to 

 Oysters. Other Gasteropod Mollusca,such as Purpura, Natica, 

 Nassa, etc., also prey upon Oysters, but their combined ravages 

 are unimportant compared with those of this species. It 

 is very destructive to the beds on the coast of Long Island 

 and New Jersey, and in the Chesapeake. Once having^ 

 attacked a bed, it is almost impossible to get rid of it. 

 Dredging with fine-meshed dredges and the careful destruc- 

 tion of their eggs wherever found in shallow water, seem to 

 be the methods adopted and recommended for keeping them 

 down. They do not spread rapidly, and its careful removal 

 from seed Oysters in planting new beds would do much ta 

 prevent its spread. They seem at times to make sudden and 

 combined attacks on the beds in certain localities. Damage- 

 to the extent of tens of thousands of dollars annually is done 

 to the beds in the localities mentioned above. 



Such is the case in the United States. But upon our 

 own North Shore we may congratulate ourselves on its com- 

 parative scarcity. It seems to do but little damage there. 

 This is doubtless due to the fact that it is a rock-loving 

 species, and the sandy character of the shore is unfavorable 

 to it. In the United States it is chiefly troublesome in rocky 

 situations. We have here another exemplification of the 

 excellence of our North Shore for purposes of Oyster culture,, 

 and another protest against our improvidence and lack of 

 wisdom in allowing our splendid opportunities not only to lie 

 unimproved, but to be positively mistised. 



