THE BOOK ABOUT THE SEA GARDENS 



Another variety has short, white spines upon 

 a dark shell, they live upon the patches of grass 

 bottom, and their shells are the round dome- 

 shaped things one finds with small protuberances 

 arranged in regular patterns. These are the 

 "processes" upon which each spine is articulated 

 in such a way that it is capable of a certain 

 amount of movement. Each is, in fact, a perfect 

 ball socket. It is found on the beaches bleached 

 to a chalky whiteness, and it is interesting to note 

 that the shell, which is apparently in one piece, is 

 composed of several segments dovetailed together. 



Another kind is oval with short, brown bristles. 

 It is known as the "beaver egg/' and lives in the 

 sand. Its presence is detected by the type of 

 mound its presence causes, and must be dug 

 out. 



The sea Jbisquit and the Macassar egg are sim- 

 ilar to the beaver. The sand dollar, the bone of 

 which seems to be allied to these, is really the bone 

 of a kind of cuttle fish upon which the queen conch 

 feeds. Alas, that queens should devour dollars 

 even in the sea ! 



There are three noticeably different conch 

 shells. The queen conch has a broad, flat base, 

 which is brown and ribbed with creamy bands. 

 The common conch is the one in which the pink 

 pearls are usually found, and it is also the one 

 from which cameo brooches and other trinkets 



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