18 THE SHELL-FISH OF THE COAST. 
rowing. There are probably few visitors to the 
beach who have not observed and pondered over 
the coiled strings of parchment-like capsules which 
here and there dot the shore. They have been 
likened by some to the rattlesnake rattle, by others 
they are loosely spoken of as ‘sea-weeds,’ under 
which designation many a helpless animal form has 
been compelled to fall. The capsules on the string 
are in reality the egg-cases of the pear-conch, 
and in order to satisfy yourself on this point 
slice open one such, and note the number of 
embryo conchs that it contains. In the dry cap- 
sules probably only the minute shells will be 
found, but in the ribbons that appear fresh and 
elastic the tiny embryos present themselves in 
full activity. It will be observed that toward one 
end of the ribbon the capsules become smaller and 
smaller, and more distantly removed from one an- 
other, while toward the opposite end they become 
larger and more crowded. The attenuated end, if 
entire, will almost invariably be found to terminate 
in a pebble or shell-fragment, to which, as to an 
anchor, it has been secured by the animal imme- 
diately after extrusion, and for the purpose of ob- 
taining a firm base of attachment. It may appear 
remarkable that such a large ribbon should ever 
have been contained within a single body, for really 
if wound up it would form a mass even larger than 
the entire animal. It can only be supposed that 
the capsules are a long time in making, appearing 
gradually one after the other during a considerable 
period of ribbon-manufacture and extrusion. They, 
