46 Beautiful Shells. 
smooth, delicate shell, and to come from the same 
root as Physalite, which means a topaz: the members 
of this genus are very numerous, being found nearly 
all over the globe. The next belongs to the family 
Auriculade, or Har Shells. The Midas’ Har (A. 
Mide), this handsome shell is prized by collectors ; 
it comes from the East Indies. Midas, it is said, 
was one who set himself up for a judge of music in 
the old fabulous times, and not appreciating that of 
Apollo, was rewarded by the angry god with a pair 
of ass’s ears. 
The Cone-shaped Melampus (M. corniformis), 
also an Ear Shell, is found in the rivers of the 
Antilles Islands. It is a pretty shell; the formation 
is much the same as that of many of the most highly- 
prized varieties of Marine Shells ; of these we shall 
have to speak presently. Melampodiwm in Latin, 
signifies a poisonous plant called Black Hellebore ; 
in the Mythology, Melampus was a great magician, 
who did all sorts of wonderful things; but we 
cannot tell what relation there exists between either 
the plant or the magician and this pretty cone shell. 
To give variety to this group, we will now throw in 
a land species called Megaspira Ruschenbergiana, 
about the origin of whose name we cannot even 
hazard a guess; the termination of the generic name, 
