THE COLOURS OF COWRIES 



Among all the treasures of the shell-cabinet few are more 

 generally attractive than the cowries, or kauris (Cypraea), 

 which form the type of a family by themselves. Rivalling 

 the olives in the brilliancy of their polished enamel, they 

 exceed those shells in the beauty and diversity of their 

 coloration, while their form in the adult state is so peculiar 

 as to attract the attention of even the most unobservant. 

 Possibly the very fact that many of them are so common 

 as, like the tiger and Surinam-toad cowry, to be employed 

 as decorative objects for our chimney-pieces, has, to a 

 certain extent, detracted in popular estimation from their 

 many striking peculiarities. But even if this be so, a 

 moment's comparison with any other shell will at once 

 show how different they really are. And if rarity be an 

 additional attraction, some among the couple of hundred or 

 so of living species -are worthy of attention, even from 

 this not very elevated standpoint. Take, for instance, 

 the prince cowry (C. princeps) and the spotted cowry 

 {C. guttata), examples of which have sold respectively for 

 forty and forty-two pounds ; while the beautiful orange 

 cowry, used as a head ornament by the chiefs of the Friendly 

 Islands, formerly fetched about twenty pounds, although 

 good specimens can now be bought at from three to five 

 pounds. Other species claim attention on account of 

 their commercial uses, the ring cowry being employed by 



3Si 



