Cones, Volutes, Mitres, and Olives. 63 
CONES, VOLUTES, MITRES, AND OLIVES. 
These are names given by collectors to certain 
classes of univalve shells, distinguished by pecu- 
harities of formation, more or less distinct. We 
shall describe two or three of each, that our readers 
may have some idea of the meaning of the terms 
which are often used by those who speak or write on 
conchology. 
The family of Cones, called Conidae, is an ex- 
tensive one; considerably above two hundred 
species having been discovered. Many of them are 
very beautiful, both in shape and colour, so that 
they are highly valued by collectors; they are prin- 
cipally found in the southern and tropical seas, upon 
sandy bottoms, at depths varying from a few feet to 
seventeen fathoms. The shells are generally thick 
and solid, rolled up, as it were, into a conical form ; 
the most familiar illustration that can be given of 
this form is a sugar-loaf, which all these shells more 
or less resemble in general outline, as thus— 

