MOLLUSCA. 58 
I believe, that the Limpet wanders away from its 
hollow during the night, returning to it as a home 
by an infallible instinct on the approach of morning. 
The mode in which the excavation is performed is 
the same as that just mentioned in the case of the 
borers, the whole under surface of the foot being 
furnished with sharp crystals of flint imbedded in 
its substance. 
In general the stony shells of the Mollusca 
afford them,,a sufficient protection, but a few 
species construct for themselves nests. A native 
example of this instinct is described in eal 
terms by the Rev. D. Landsborough, who obtaine 
it in Lamlash Bay :— 
“The most interesting, though not the rarest, 
thing we got was Lima hians. I had before this 
some specimens of this pretty bivalve, and I had 
admired the beauty and elegance of the shell; but 
hitherto [ had been unacquainted with the life and 
manners of its inhabitant. Mr. and Miss Alder 
had got it in the same kind of coral at Rothesay, 
so that when Miss Alder got a cluster of the coral 
cohering in a mass, she said, ‘ O, here is the Lima’s 
nest!’ and breaking it up, the Zima was found 
snug in the middle of it. The coral nest is 
curiously constructed, and remarkably well fitted 
to be a safe residence for this beautiful animal. 
The fragile shell does not nearly cover the Mollusk, 
the most delicate part of it, a beautiful orange fringe- 
work, being altogether outside of the shell. Had 
it no extra protection, the half-exposed animal 
would be a tempting mouthful—quite a bonne-bouche 
to some prowling haddock or whiting; but He 
who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, teaches 
this little creature, which He has so elegantly 
