202 MARVELS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD 



naut was in the habit of journeying over the surface 

 of the water by making use of its shell as a boat, and 

 then holding two of its arms in the air to act as 

 sails while it rowed along with the remaining six. 

 James Montgomery wrote the following poem on 

 the supposed powers of the creature : 



Light as a flake of foam upon the wind, 

 Keel upward from the deep emerged a shell 

 Shaped like the moon ere half her horn is filVd ; 

 Fraught with young life, it righted as it rose, 

 And movsd at will along the yielding water. 

 The native pilot of this little bark 

 Put out a tier of oars on either side, 

 Spread to the wafting breeze a twofold sail, 

 And mounted up and glided down the billow 

 In happy freedom, pleased to feel the air, 

 And wander in the luxury of light. 



The snails, whelks, and limpets walk along by 

 contracting and expanding their 'foot,' as that 

 portion of their anatomy upon which they crawl is 

 termed. The limpets rarely go far from their head- 

 quarters, and even when they do take a walk abroad 

 they invariably return to the exact spot from whence 

 they started, fixing themselves thereon with a grip 

 of such tenacity that, according to Mr. Edgar 

 Smith, it requires a force of sixty-two pounds, or 

 one thousand nine hundred and eighty-four times 

 the weight of an average -sized specimen, to dis- 

 lodge it. 



The cockle progresses in a curious manner, for 

 with the aid of its long and bent foot it gives a 

 vigorous kick upon the ground, and thereby forces 



