150 SEA-SHORE LIFE 
spot fit closely over the stone or dead shell to which they are 
attached, the attachment being made very secure by a stony cement 
that is secreted by the 
foot. The eggs are laid 
in round capsules 
which are attached to 
a minute cord in grape- 
like clusters. Each 
little capsule contains 
a large number of eggs 
floating in a nutrient 
jelly. From two to 
twenty thousand eggs 
are laid, and are fast- 
ened to the ground by 
Fig. 111; Bel Grass, at low tide, covered with Periwinkles. the side of the animal 
Annisquam, Mass. 

so as to be covered by 
the shell itself. The breeding season extends from early summer 
until about August 15th. Our species range from the West Indies 
to Nova Scotia, and are very common in Long Island Sound. 
Crepidula fornicata (fig. 112), the largest species, is found 
attached to horse-shoe crabs, and also to stones and dead shells. A 
succession of individuals being often seen fastened one to the shell 
of the other with the last shell in the line fastened to a stone or 

Fig. 112; DECKER SHELL. Long Island Sound. 
other firm anchorage. In these strings of shells the heads are 
usually pointed all in the same direction. -The young hatch as 
