GROWTH OF SHELLS. 159 
“ After all that has been said the mystery 
remains. The delicate tracery upon the olives, 
the mottled surfaces of the Cyprwa, are myste- 
ries still, and even this remains unaccounted 
for,” she added, taking a Verita from the shelf. 
“This tooth, like a point of ruby upon the col- 
umella, is a pretty secret which we can not ex- 
plain. This little jeweled point has given the 
name of ‘bleeding tooth’ to the shell. We 
can not resist the wish that we might be near 
enough to Mother Nature’s heart to be taken 
into her counsels. We would like to know 
how and why she gave the little Verita this 
single red jewel. There are many things we 
would like to know.” 
