194 



NATURAL HISTOKX. 



the common Whelk (Buccinum undatuni) as an article of food by the poorer classes. The shell is 

 fusiform, with a many-whorled spire, and a long straight canal ; the operculum is oval and curved, with 

 the nucleus at its apex. Fusils has a world-wide distribution. Over one hundred species are 

 described, many of which are sub-tropical. 



The Fusus antiquus is extensively sold in Scotland, and also in Liverpool. It is the " Roaring 

 Buckie," in which the sound of the sea may always be heard. Indeed, from its abundance and its 



size, it is very frequently used by children in the manner described 



in the exquisite lines of Wordsworth : 



" I have seen 



A curious child applying to his ear 

 The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell, 

 To which, in silence hushed, his very soul 

 Listened intensely, and his countenance soon 

 Brightened with joy ; for murmuring from within 

 Were heard sonorous cadences, wherehy, 

 To his belief, the monitor express' d 

 Mysterious union with its native sea." 



The most valuable of the British univalves are some of the large 



O 



Whelks ; it is impossible to get a specimen of Fusus turtoni, even from 

 the fishermen, for less than 30s., because it is only taken on the Scar- 

 borough coast, and there are always residents as well as visitors ready to 

 buy it. A fine example would fetch three guineas in town. Fusus dalei 

 is worth from three to five guineas ; Fusus berniciensis, five guineas ; and 

 there are collectors who would give still more for the Fusus fusiform in if 

 it could be obtained. The little Stylifer turtoni, found on the backs of Sea 

 Urchins nestling among their spines, would have cost a guinea a few years 

 ago, but has since been found in considerable numbers at Plymouth. 



All the specimens of Fusus antiquus dredged in Vigo Bay, on the 

 coast of Portugal, are found to be reversed (i.e., sinistral, or left-handed 

 spirals). Fusus deformis, found living off Spitzbergen, is also always 

 reversed. 



In Zetland, the Fiisus antiquus, suspended horizontally by a cord, is 

 used by the fishermen as a lamp, the canal serving to hold the wick, 

 and the body of the shell the oil. (Fleming.) 



Hemifusus colosseus and proboscidalis are two of the largest living Gasteropods. The 

 latter has been found placed as an ornament 011 the graves of the aborigines in Australia. It 

 attains a length of two feet. Some living species of Fusus are remarkable for the great length of the 

 canal. This is the case in Fusus coins, in which it is twice as long as the rest of the shell. 



The nest for hatching the fry of Fusi is curious in all the species. That of Fusus norvegicus 

 consists of a lens-shaped bag, of an inch diameter, glued to the inside of shells. Mr. Howse says : 

 " The envelope is coriaceous, of a horny appearance, very transparent, smooth, glossy, and of a 

 yellowish colour ; one of the capsules contained three, the other only two, embryos. The last were 

 far advanced, and apparently ready to leave the case. Through the transparent covering, when, first 

 dredged, I could see them moving about, and adhering to the inner surface of the capsule by the 

 expanded foot, the sides of which were of a faint lilac colour. The thin operculum, the flattened 

 tentacles, the diminutive spot-like eyes of these beautiful little creatures, were also distinctly visible. 

 The young shell is very thin, brittle, pellucid, brilliantly glossy, and of a pale amber colour, nipple- 

 formed, and perfectly resembles the nucleus, or upper whorl, of the adult individual. Those most 

 advanced in growth have two whorls, and are half an inch in length by a quarter in width." 



The capsules of Fusus antiquus are smaller, and placed above each other in a heap. The young 

 are fully formed before they leave the capsule, but the young shell, which forms the nucleus or apex 

 of the spire of the adult, is thin, rounded, and of a totally different character : hence the curious 

 mamillated apex observed in all the species. (Sowerby.) 



FUSUS PKOBOSCIDALIS. 



