Chop. 53.] APPLIANCES OF LUXURY FOUND IN THE SKA. 129 



tinctions 6 of rayed shells, long-haired 7 shells, wavy-haired shells, 

 channelled shells, peetinated shells, imbricated shells, reticu- 

 lated shells, shells with lines oblique or rectilinear, thick-set 

 shells, expanded shells, tortuous shells, shells the valves of 

 which are united by one small knot, shells which are held to- 

 gether all along one side, shells which are open as if in the 

 very act of applauding, 8 and shells which wind, 9 resembling a 

 conch. The fish of this class, known as the shells of Venus, 10 

 are able to navigate the surface of the deep, and, presenting to 

 the wind their concave side, catch the breeze, and sail along on 

 the surface of the sea. Scallops are also able to leap 11 and 

 fly above the surface of the water, and they sometimes employ 

 their shell by way of a bark. 



CHAP. 53. (34.) WHAT NUMEROUS APPLIANCES OF LUXURY AHE 



FOUND IN THE SEA. 



But why mention such trifles as these, when I am sensible 

 that no greater inroads have been made upon our morals, and 

 no more rapid advances have been made by luxury, than 

 those effected through the medium of shell-fish ? Of all the 

 elements that exist, the sea is the one that costs the dearest 

 to the belly ; seeing that it provides so many kinds of meats, ' 



8 As no two naturalists might probably agree as to the exact meaning of 

 the terms here employed, it has been thought advisable to give the passage 

 as it appears in the original : " Jam distinctione virgulata, crinita, crispa, 

 cuniculatim, pectinatim divisa, imbricatim undata, cancellatim reticulata, 

 in obliquum, in rectum expansa, densata, porrecta, sinuata, brevi nodo le- 

 gatis, toto latere connexis, ad plausum apertis, ad' buccinum recurvis." 



7 In allusion, probably, to the streaks or lines drawn upon the exterior of 

 the shell. 



8 With the mouth wide open, like that of a person in the act of ap- 

 plauding. 



9 By " ad buccinum recurvis," he probably alludes to a whelk, or fish 

 with a turbinated shell, resembling the larger conch or trumpet shell, which 

 Triton is sometimes described as blowing. 



10 Probably some of the Cyprsea ; which have been already alluded to in 

 Note 6 to c. 41 of the present Book. Cuvier remarks, that there are many 

 of the univalve shell-fish that float on the surface of the water, but none, 

 with the exception of the argonauta or nautilus, are known to employ a 

 membranous sail. 



11 Cuvier says, that he has been informed that the scallop, by suddenly 

 bringing together the valves of its shell, is able to make a bound, and leap 

 above the surface of the water. 



