70 Life Beneath tlie Waves. 



valve. In spite of the delicate hues of the 

 Banded Venus, its appearance is by no 

 means fragile; on the contrary, it looks, as 

 it is, very strong, the valves being solid 

 and thick. 



The Tapestry or Carpet shells belong to 

 this group : this name is given because the 

 arrangement of colour is thought to re- 

 semble that of the needlework so much in 

 vogue amongst ladies many years ago 

 tapes, their Latin denomination, signifying 

 tapestry. 



These shells live in mud, as has fre- 

 quently been testified when brought up by 

 the dredge ; indeed, the contents of the net 

 have on some occasions been so extremely 

 unprepossessing when emptied on the 

 deck, owing to the mud with which they 

 were enveloped, that it required both time 

 and patience to render them fit for ex- 



