70 THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION, \ 



25 to 75 cents). Its range may well be looked upon as extraordin- 

 ary — West Indies, Ceylon and New Zealand. 



The Volutidoe have fossilized representatives in the Eocene 

 rocks. The Olives (rice shells) now form a distinct family ; formerly 

 they were looked upon as Volutes. They have also been found in 

 the Eocenes. 



The Conidse family, to which your attention is next called, are 

 obconic shells with a long and narrow aperture, both lips parallel 

 and without teeth. This merely applies to the habitation itself, as 

 many collectors have found to their cost when carelessly handling 

 living cones in shallows, inside coral reefs, in crevices or fissures. 

 Their predatory habit alone may prove the animal's biting powers, 

 if nothing else was needed to satisfy us on this point. 



It is not very many years since the Conus Aminiralis here pro- 

 duced cost $25 ; mine I got for $3, and it may perhaps be pur- 

 chased for less now. 



Extravagant as the former price may appear to us now, how 

 little it seems beside the sum recorded by Mawe, in the second 

 edition of " Woodward's Conchology," for Conus Cedo NulH,y\z., 

 300 guineas. Tryon alleges this member of the family is not at all 

 so exceedingly rare at present. I noticed since his work was pub- 

 lished, a lucky Naturalist, on turning over a detached large piece of 

 coral, was delighted to find no less than four specimens underneath. 

 Even taking into account the reduced prices now obtainable, he 

 must have been hard to please if dissatisfied with his day's work. I 

 wonder if there can be a mistake on the part of the writers regarding 

 this Mollusc — whether they do not confound it with Comis Gloria 

 Maris, another of the family for which an Irish peer was offered the 

 same amount. Only two specimens were dredged, I understand, in 

 the Red Sea. One is said to be in France, the other belonged to 

 Lord Montmorris. About 300 distinct species of cones are recog- 

 nized by recent writers, sub-divided mto many groups, which we 

 ne€d not enumerate, since it may seem to some of us unnecessary, 

 and its tendency is not calculated to lead the student to the study of 

 what has been quaintly called " the gentle science." 



The knowledge acquired of the sea and its living wonders by 

 the scientific expeditions of Europe and the United States can only 

 be looked upon as yet as sealed books, open to the few alone who 



