rerucuiUo, 53 



PERIVflNKLE. 



Tills is tlie commonest representative wliicli we 

 have of the family Turhinidce, wliicli compreliencls^ 

 according to Cuvier, all tlie species 

 wliicli have the shell completely and 

 regularly turhinated — that is^ if we 

 translate the Latin word into English^ 

 tv/isted. The little Periwinkle (here 

 he is) is by no means a handsome mollusk_, but 

 some of his relatives are very beautiful^ as we 

 shall presently show. He is called by naturalists 

 T, littoreus — from litforalisj belonging to the shore 

 — and is often eaten by boys and girls with great 

 relish j but he is not very digestible,, and sometimes 

 occasions dangerous disorders. The Swedish .pea- 

 sants believe that when the periwinkle crawls high 

 upon the rocks^ a storm is brewing from the south ; 

 but Linnaeus quotes a Norwegian author to show 

 that according to popular belief, it foretells the 

 approach of a land wind with a calm on shore. 

 Man may learn much of elemental changes from an 

 observation of the movements and habits of all 

 living creatures^ which are instructed by God to 

 provide for their safety and wants^ and often per- 



