58 LIVING CREATURES. 



The wonder is that the shell is produced from the 

 mantle of the mollusk; and the spots, or eyes, are 

 painted by a coloring matter secreted by the mantle 

 precisely where the spots occur on the shell. Cowries 

 are of different sizes and shades. The mollusk is quite 

 as beautiful as its shell. 



You can not wonder that uncivilized peoples have a 

 passion for ornamental shells. A small cowry found in 

 the Pacific Ocean is used by African tribes for money. 

 Great numbers of money cowries are shipped by En- 

 gland to Africa, where they are sold to the natives in 

 exchange for their products. These shells are the 

 common money of the natives of Bengal, Siam, and 

 Hindostan. 



The first settlers of this country found the Indians 

 using shells for money. These natives cut the white 

 and the black shells in pieces, and strung them on a 

 cord or belt, which was then called wampum. The 

 squaws tied shells to the shoes they wore when danc- 

 ing, to produce a rattling, tinkling sound. The only 

 piano the Indians had consisted of strings of shells 

 hung loosely around their lodges, and played upon by 

 the fingers of the wind. The ancient Athenians made 

 use of shells for ballots, upon which they inscribed 

 their votes. In the Friendly Islands the orange cowry 

 is worn only by persons of the highest rank. 



PART 2. 



WHO has not seen the large, reddish conch shell? 

 Formerly the farmers on the coast used this southern 

 shell for a horn to call their workmen to dinner. The 



