CAPE SABLE 79 



giant wall of mangroves which I have elsewhere 

 described adjoins the northern part of Northwest 

 Cape and the water along the entire sandy shore 

 is so filled with sediment that it is unpleasant to 

 bathe in it. This sediment, which is more or less 

 mixed with coarser materials, seems to be chiefly 

 the soil, peat, and half decayed wood from man- 

 grove swamps. 



This beach is a noted place for sea shells. 

 During the time of storms when the wind blows 

 landward, quantities of Murex, Fulgur, the Fas- 

 ciolarias, handsome Olivas with their wonderfully 

 zigzagged and tentlike color patterns, graceful 

 cones, Cancellarias and Bullas among gastropods; 

 Venus, Cardiums, Macrocallistas with delicately 

 painted, polished shells, large Dosinias, as round 

 as dollars, beautifully tinted Tellinas, among 

 which the brilliant crimson T. braziliana is espe- 

 cially abundant; a large representation of the 

 Lucinidae and millions of Donax or "wedge" 

 shells together with many other forms are strewn 

 upon the littoral. The beach seems to be a sort 

 of headquarters for the great "angel's wings" 

 (Pholas costatus). This mollusk burrows to a 

 depth of a couple of feet in the sand or mud and, 



