CHAPTER XL 



Adventures with My First ShelIv — Nature of the Horn 

 Shells— Advice About Preparation — The Bittiums 

 — Tower Shell — C^cum and Serpulorbis— The 

 Horse-Hoofs and the Slipper Shells — The Spiny 



CuP-AND-SaUCER lylMPET. 



MY first opportunity to gather any of the shells 

 which are described in this book occurred a 

 good many years ago. The place was a 

 shallow arm of San Francisco bay, and the 

 shell was the one shown in Fig. 56. I 

 shall never forget the pleasure I felt, as I 

 saw them lying by dozens and hundreds on 

 the surface of the mud, after the tide had 

 gone down. They seemed to be enjoying 

 the fresh air, and were in no hurry for the 

 Fig. 56. return of the tide. Similar species, in 

 other countries, spend so much time in the air that 

 they have been mistaken for land shells. 



As they were my first shells, and I was ignorant of 

 their name, I sent a few to the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion to be identified. The name proved to be Cerith- 

 idea sacrata^ Gld., Se-ri-thid^-e-a sa-cra'-ta. In com- 

 mon words we may call them Horn Shells. 



But I was as ignorant about the proper care of the 

 shells as concerning their name, and a pretty source 

 of trouble they were to me. The animals soon died, 



