When circumstances are thus favourable, the vil- 

 lagers muster en masse, men, women, and children, 

 armed with spades, and shovels, and baskets, and 

 ]>ails, and all manner of utensils, that will turn up the 

 sand, or hold the prey after it is captured. As soon 

 as they come near the margin of the water, the sho- 

 velling, and scraping, and scrambling, and shouting 

 begin ; and no nutting, or even vintage, can be more 

 joyous than tin's midsummer harvest of the sea. And 

 it requires all the agility of the youngsters to secure 

 the prize ; for though the spade will sometimes dis- 

 close a dozen or more, not above one or two are 

 caught, and all hands are searching to regain the fu- 

 gitives. The very dogs seem to enter into the sport ; 

 for they skip about, and whine, and bark, and scrape, 

 as if half the work rested upon their shoulders. It is 

 indeed a most amusing time ; and as the fishes, when 

 the beach is favourable, recede and return with (that 

 is near) the water, it may be continued till each family 

 fills a large pail or basket. 



Even the gulls seem to know that there is some- 

 thing going on which is a sort of invasion of their ter- 

 ritory ; for they wheel, and wail, and scream, now 

 mei>.icing the dogs, and anon attempting to assail the 

 baskets, in the hope of regaining part of what has 

 been taken from their preserves. The salmon, too, 

 appear to look on at no great distance ; for the por- 

 poises come so near land as to be in some danger of 

 grounding j and when that is the case, salmon are not 

 far off. 



A M M O N A C E A ( R!ai u ville). A family of mol- 

 luseous animals, which includes the genera discorbites, 

 scaphites, ammonites, and simplegas, all of which are 

 fossils, and will be more fully described under their 

 respective names. The animal being totally unknown, 

 the general characteristics of these shells can alone 

 be given ; they are, the shell being discoid, separated 

 at short distances by very thin partitions, called 

 septa ; the sides generally very thin ; the form of the 

 shell is compressed, and spirally rolled round its first 

 I urn, so as to exhibit each convolution gradually in- 

 creasing in size : the last coil larger, consequently, 

 than all the preceding, though not to such an extent 

 as to form a wide aperture. These volutions or coils 

 are variously sculptured, and the chambers or divisions 

 are perforated by several, but most generally only by 

 one tube or siphon, which penetrates through their 

 whole length. One genus of this family, the ammo- 

 nita, attains an enormous size, while others on the 

 contrary are microscopic. 



AMMONCERATITA (Lamarck, Blaiuville). A 

 genus of molluscous fossils, of the family Litttacea; or- 

 der Polythalamacea ; class Cep/ialophord, An arched 

 conical shell, forming scarcely half a turn, resembling 



AMMON ACE A- A M M O N I T A. 93 



figured, A. glossoldea, sometimes attains the length of 



A. glossoidea. 



a ram's horn ; the septa sinuous, with a single im 

 nal siphon not piercing the septa. The spc 



margi- 

 The species 



nearly two feet. They are found in the East Indies, 

 and in Mount St. Catherine near Rouen. 



A fossil shell of this genus is also known ; the 

 shell is conical, arched, but scarcely forming half a 

 turn ; the septa are sinuous, with a single marginal 

 siphon, not piercing the partition. 



AMMONITA (Linnaeus, Cuvier, Blainville). A 

 genus of fossil shells, of the class Cc-phalophura. 

 These shells being known only in a fossil state, the 



arrangement of their species depends principally 

 upon a uniformity of external configuration ; but as 

 most of them are moulds, or internal models, another 

 difficulty is presented, rendering any thing like a 

 correct distribution of their numerous species into 

 families almost impossible : there are, however, other 

 consistent guides, such as the more or less globose 

 form of the spiral convolutions, the keel being double, 

 triple, or quadruple, and either knobbed or plain. But 

 perhaps one of the best and most unerring distinctions 

 is the sinuosity of the septa or partitions, their number 

 and general distribution, with reference to the form of 

 the shells, in juxtaposition with the various species. 

 They are certainly closely allied to the nautilacea, 

 from which, however, among other circumstances, 

 they differ by having the mouth thickened, and in some 

 expanded outwards, while in others it is contracted ; 

 so few of the immense number, however, are ever 

 discovered in a complete state, that here again an- 

 other' guide is found deficient, in many essential points, 

 by which a determinate character could be given to 

 the species. The genus may therefore at present be 

 generally described as a discoid shell, more or less 

 compressed, the spiral turns more or less evident and 

 convex, the aperture more or less expanded, the par- 

 titions or septa constantly sinuons, with a dorsal 

 siphon. They are variously sculptured, but the greater 

 portion of them resemble the marks of progressive 

 growth or rings observable on the ram's horn, from 

 which circumstance they have probably derived their 

 trivial name of Cornna Annnonis, or Ammon's horn. 

 The Egyptians worshipped Jupiter under the name 

 of Arnmon, a deity represented by the. rum ; and the 

 busts and portraits of Jupiter Ammon arc constantly 

 found sculptured with rams' horns, as are those also 

 of Alexander the Great, after he was deified as the 

 son of Ammon. 



Ammonites. 



Ammonites are found in all parts of the globe ; in 

 France (particularly in Burgundy) they are so nume- 

 rous as to furnish the principal material for mending 



