Uses of Shells, 13 



of hard shell. Lister relates that the inhabitants 

 of Nicaragua, in South America, fasten a shell, 

 called the Ostrea mrginica, to a handle of wood, and 

 use it as a spade. In North America the natives 

 use a blue and white belt composed of shells, called 

 the Venus mercenariaj as a symbol of peace and 

 unity, and there, too, the gorget of the chieftain^s 

 war-dress is composed of the pearl-bearing mussel, 

 called by naturalists Mytilus margaritiferiis. Many 

 African tribes use the Miirex tritonis as a military 

 horn, and a rare variety of this shell, which has the 

 volutions reversed, is held sacred, and used only by 

 the priests. Among the Friendly Islanders the 

 Orange Cowry is a symbol of the highest dignity. 

 The Money Cowry [Cyp^cea moneta) forms the cur- 

 rent coin of many nations of Africa ; and a certain 

 number of these shells strung together, are con- 

 sidered by the slave-hunting chiefs as an equivalent 

 for so many black-skinned brothers, whom they sell 

 into hopeless bondage. 



Among nations, too, in a high state of civiliza- 

 tion, shells are often used for economical, as well as 

 ornamental purposes. To say nothing of mother- 

 of-pearl, which is converted into so many articles, 

 useful as well as pretty, scallop, or oyster shells, 

 are frequently employed as scoops by druggists, 



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