80 NATURAL HISTOHY. 



cuttle-fishes, by this otherwise defenceless creature. When the 

 surf of the next tide (if a higher one) has passed over the dead 

 shells, it seldom leaves one perfect. Those cast ashoi'e at the top 

 of springs may be long enough to bleach ; but they always bleach 

 blue-white, the colour of their own paler portions. If, however, 

 there were a pink species of Ianthina, it would probably have 

 been discovered before this. At any rate, it is a rare and lovely 

 little shell. 



The animal of Ianthina is remarkably pig-headed. I do not 

 mean to impugn his morals or intelligence; but merely his profile, 

 He is said to live upon some gelatinous things called velellse and 

 other acaleplme, whereof I shall have more to say further on ; and 

 certain it is that although I often find them without him, I never 

 find him without them. 



Our common limpets resemble those of Europe. I have not 

 here got any of the queer " key-hole limpets," ft Bonnet limpets " 

 and. cup and saucer shells, Fissurellidcv and Calyptneidte-; 

 but no doubt they could be found by a collector with more 

 leisure and knowledge, nor have I any of the extraordinary multi- 

 valve Chitons. 



A very small Dentalium, or Elephant's tusk shell, is found on the 

 sands in large numbers. 



One of the beauties of our shores is a little sea-snail, Rotella vesti- 

 aria, which (or rather whose shell, as I never got a live one) occurs 

 in countless numbers ; sometimes colouring the beach in bands two or 

 three feet wide and many yards long. How many species of Rotella 

 there may be I know not ; but we have three marked types of colour, 

 viz., an uniform dark crimson, an equally uniform coral pink> and a 

 mottled pattern in which the ground colour runs from crimson to 

 white ; and the markings are of various shades of brown. The 

 largest I get ai*e a little bigger than common "pearl" shirt-studs, 

 biit some in our museum are double as big. 



The land and fresh water univalves are not particularly interest- 

 ing, and differ little from those of the Deccan ; except the 

 Cremnnconchi previously noticed; and a prettily-shaped Auricula 

 inhabiting salt marshes and the like places, whence it is often 

 washed out to sea and cast on the shore, where it passes for a 

 sea- she 11. 



The Dorids, or sea-slugs, are pretty numerous; and one or two 

 species reach at least three inches long, These large ones seem 



