SHELLS AND THEIR ANIMALS. 205 



USES OF SHELLS AND THEIR 

 INHABITANTS. 



Testaceous bodies are not only to be admired 

 for their beauty, but valued for their usefulness. 

 Several of their animals afford a very nutritious 

 diet. The oyster supplies the table of the rich 

 with a wholesome delicacy ; in many maritime 

 situations the poor population are almost entirely 

 supported by various shell fish, as muscles, 

 cockles, pectens, solens, &c. The medicinal 

 qualities of the snail have rendered it a suitable 

 sustenance for the invalid. The Mollusca not 

 only contribute to supply the wants of man, but 

 form the subsistence of other animals ; they are 

 the prey of various fish, and are a favourite food 

 of seafowl, who exert much ingenuity in getting 

 at them : when they find their beaks insufficient 

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

 neighbouring eminence, from whence they drop 

 it, that it may be crushed against the rocks. The 

 monkey also regales himself with shellfish ; at 

 the reflux of the tide, when the Mollusca, for 

 want of water, keep their shells open, he stations 

 himself on the sea shore ; aware of the danger 

 of inserting his paws between the valves, he 

 drops in a stone or two, by which he prevents 

 their closing, and is enabled to extract his prey 

 with impunity. The shells also of Testaceous 

 animals are useful in various ways. In America 



18 



