Animal of I he Argonaut . 



VII 



64 



; ^» 







experience and that of Mrs. Power coincided in this particu- 

 lar, I had only to discover, if possible, specimens of the Argo- 

 naut exhibiting removed portions replaced with true shell, 

 and the experiments of both these parties would go very far 

 towards proving the very reverse of the position which it was 

 the object of Mrs. Power to establish. 



With this end in view, I determined to inspect all the col- 

 lections of shells, whether public or private, within reach, 

 considering it at the same time not a little remarkable that I 

 could not call to mind ever having seen a repaired Argonaut, 

 although this shell, from its extreme delicacy and large size, 

 might be reasonably supposed more liable to fracture than, 

 perhaps, any other. It was in the collection of Mr. George 

 B. Sowerby that I was first fortunate enough to meet with the 

 object of my search. The figure {Jig. 64.) represents a spe- 

 cimen which he had had reserved, from the circumstance of its 

 having been broken and subsequently repaired ; and he in- 

 formed me that this was the only instance of the kind which 

 had come under his observation during his whole experience 

 as a scientific conchologist and dealer in shells. One specimen, 

 however, was to me as good as a thousand to establish the fact 

 which I was desirous of proving, that of the constructor of 



