210 MULTIVALVES. 



8. What is the generic character of the Lepas ? 



9. Describe the two families into which the 

 Lepas is divided. 



10. Describe the animal which inhabits the 

 Lepas. 



USES OF SHELLS AND THEIR 

 INHABITANTS. 



Testaceous bodies besides being admired for 

 their beauty, are valued for their usefulness. 

 Several of their animals afford a very nutritious 

 diet : thus the oyster supplies the table of the 

 rich with a wholesome delicacy; and in many 

 maritime situations the poor population are almost 

 entirely supported by various shell fish, as mus- 

 cles, cockles, pectens, solens, &c. The medicinal 

 qualities also of the snail have rendered it a suita- 

 ble sustenance for the invalid. Mollusks not 

 only contribute to supply the wants of man, they 

 also form the subsistence of other animals ; they 

 are the prey of various fishes, and are a favourite 

 food of seafowl, who exert much ingenuity in get- 

 ting at them : when they find their beaks insuffi- 

 cient to pierce a shell, they will ascend with it to 

 some neighbouring eminence, from whence they 

 drop it, to be broken against the rocks. The 

 monkey also regales himself with shellfish ; 

 at the reflux of the tide, when the Mollusks for 



