THE SMOOTH LIMPET 29 



over its gills; so that all the time that it is 

 breathing, if only one could see it, a kind of little 

 fountain is playing under water, spouting out from 

 the top of its shell ! 



PLATE XI 

 THE SMOOTH LIMPET (3) 



At first sight, perhaps, you would hardly take 

 this creature for a limpet at all, for it is ever so 

 much smaller than either the common or the key- 

 hole limpets, and has a very thin and delicate shell 

 indeed. It varies a good deal in colour, but gene- 

 rally the shell is pale brown, looking almost like 

 polished horn, with eight or nine narrow streaks 

 of bright blue running down from the peak to the 

 margin. It is often called the "bonnet shell," 

 because in shape it is rather like an old-fashioned 

 bonnet. 



You may often find the empty shells of this 

 creature lying upon the shore. But if you take 

 them home you will find that as soon as they 

 become dry the beautiful blue streaks begin to 

 fade, and that after a few days you can hardly see 

 them at all. 



