1 82 INTRODUCTION TO ZOOLOGT. 



boiled in spring-water, and when seasoned with oil, salt, and 

 pepper, make a dainty dish."* 



Fig. 169 represents a species belonging to a diflferent order 



F5g. 169.— Vermetcs. 



(Tubulibranchiata). Such shells occur in groups, and are 

 always found attached to other bodies. They bear some re- 

 semblance to the tubes of the serpulas {Fig. 40), though the 

 contained animals are widely different. 



Of those which possess comb-shaped gills (Pectinibranchiata) 

 the common Whelk, or, to use the term employed in the North 

 of Ireland, the " Buckie" (Buccinum undatum) is perhaps the 

 best known example. It is carnivorous in its habits, and is 

 furnished with a singular kind of proboscis, well adapted for 

 boring into the shells of other Mollusks. On some parts of the 

 Irish coast it is taken in wicker baskets containing offal, and 

 is then extensively employed by the fishermen as bait. From 

 its abundance and its size, it is very frequently used by children 

 in the manner described in the exquisite lines of Wordsworth : — 



-" I have seen 



A curious child applying to his ear 



The convolutions of a smooth-lipped 5I10II, 



To ^vhich, in silence hushed, his very soul 



Listened intensely, and his countenance soon 



Brightened with joy; for murmuring from within 



Were heard sonorous cadences, whereby, 



To his belief, the monitor express'd 



Mysterious union with its native sea. 



Even such a shell tlie universe itself 



Is to the ear of faith, and doth impart 



Authentic tidings of invisible things; 



Of ebb and flow, and evor-during power; 



And central peace subsisting at the heart 



Of endless agitation." 



Another shell, even more plentiful on our rocky shores, is 

 the Dog-wlielk {Purpura lapillus). It is remarkable for 

 furnishing a purplish dye, which makes an indelible marking- 

 ink. Tills is contained in a whitish or straw-coloiu-ed vein, 



* Turton's Manual, edited by John Ed. Gray, pages 135, 13 G. 



