WATERS OF WESTERN INDIA. 93 



looking like a tiny model of a volcano with its crater. On close 

 examination the cone is seen to consist of several plates, and if the 

 creature be alive there will be seen a second cone inside the crater, 

 which is the "operculum" or door valve. A small white species is 

 very common on rocks between tide marks, and some of the outer 

 reefs have a very fine species, with an extremely massive shell, 

 which grows in great clusters as big as a man's two fists. 

 Individual shells are often an inch and more long ; the colour is a 

 dull red or black, which weathers, after death, to pink and white. 

 In this condition the shell looks something like a large flower bud 

 turned to stone ; and is very effective in the rockwork of a fernery, 

 or the like. It is occasionally called a " tulip-shell/' an appropriate 

 name enough. 



We get another species on turtles, which is not calcareous 

 but horny, and looks very much like an old-fashioned great-coat 

 button ; the colour is a dirty white. Specimens from the under- 

 side of the turtle seem to some extent lighter in colour, perhaps 

 because they are less exposed to light. We have some such 

 specimens in our Museum. They don't do the turtle any harm ; 

 living on what they get from the w^ater. Some barnacles are 

 said to attach themselves to Whales and Porpoises, but this I have 

 not seen myself. All of them begin life swimming free, and only 

 settle down as they age. 



The Annelides, or leeches and sea-worms, are pretty well-known. 

 Leeches of several sorts exist in our tanks, but are not here a pest as 

 in some other tropical countries. 



A Serpula, very like one common at home, covers stones on the 

 beach, oyster-shells, and so forth, with long white winding tubes. A 

 large Terebella is pretty common on many strands. It collects shells 

 and sticks, and more particularly bits of gi'ass, to make a tube for 

 itself to live in under the sand; and sometimes goes by the name of 

 a " Sea-caddis." The use of the grass seems to be to anchor it in the 

 sand. The whole tube, as it lies half exposed, looks more like the 

 root of some plant than the dwelling of a worm. We have some 

 very long smooth ribbon-like sea worms (which may be Nemertida), 

 and one hairy species, looking very like a hairy caterpillar which 

 takes up its quarters upon floating wreck or the like ; but doesn't 

 make itself fast in any way. The " lobworm" and "hairy bait" 

 seem to be much the same as those at home ; but they don't often 

 come to hand, because they are not used here as bait, and there- 



