Cones, Volutes, Mitres, and Olives. 65 
one, the Conus cedo nulli, which may be translated, 
the Cone second to none, has fetched the enormous 
sum of three hundred guineas. It must not be 
supposed that these shells exhibit all their beauties 
when, inhabited by a carnivorous or flesh-eating 
mollusk, they move slowly about, or lie for a time 
motionless among the rocks and sand-beds of the 
ocean. The before-mentioned epidermis, which is 
the Latin for the outer skin of the human body, 
covers them like a cloak or mantle, which is the 
name it bears among naturalists. Much careful 
labour is required to bring them to a fit state for 
cabinet shells. 
Vo.orss form an extensive family of shells under 
the name Volutine. The greater part are natives of 
tropical seas, and dwell far down, so that they are 
seldom found on the coast, except after storms. 
There are a few European species, but these are 
not remarkable for beauty, as most of the others 
are. The generic name signifies twisted, or rather 
wreathed, as flowers or leaves might be, about 
some central object. In these shells the spire is 
generally short, as it is in many cones, sometimes 
scarcely apparent; the form is usually elegant, and 
the markings often striking and handsome. On 
Plate V. will be found three examples—Fig. 3 is 
