CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Page 

 Scripture allusions to the Peari — The manner of its production — 

 Pearls found in various parts of the animal — Value of Pearls — Various 

 instances of it — Pearl fisheries of the East — The village of Kondatchie 

 — The fishery described — Shark-charmers — The Pearl-diver — Pearls 

 soon change — The Parable of the " Pearl of great price" — Complica- 

 tion of the mantle — The Mussel — Its foot — Its singular movements — 

 Belts of Wampum used by the Indian tribes — The Cockle — The Solen — 

 The Pholas — The Teredo— The Mactra — Muscular power ... 74 



CHAPTER VII. 



The Gasteropoda — Meaning of the name — The Slug — The mischief it 

 does — Structure of this class of animals — Means of progress — Their 

 mode of ascent and descent — The Glaucus — The lanthina — The Portu- 

 guese man-of-war — Capture of its prey — Interest excited by shells — 

 Division into univalve, bivalve, and multivalve — Parts of a shell de- 

 scribed — Membranaceous and porcellaneous shells — Experiment on the 

 shell of a Snail — Formation of a shell — The Limpet — The common Snail 

 — The benevolence of the universal Father — Rapid enlargement of the 

 mantle — Origin of projecting cones or spines — Changes in the interior 

 of a shell — The Cone — The Olive shell — Large portions of shells removed 

 by their inmates — Intimate connexion between the shell and the animal 

 — The body of the creature sometimes fastened to the shell — Limit as- 

 signed to the growth of shells — Successive deposits forming a lid — 

 Various coverings of shells — Shells light or heavy according to the cir- 

 cumstances in which they are found — The MoUusca able to adorn their 

 habitations — Curious provision of colouring fluids — Manifestations of 

 Divine Providence— " Mother of pearl"— Singular fact .... 



