138 HABITS AND ECONOMY OF THE MOLLUSCA. 



The Aplysia or sea-hare will, in captivity, eat its eggs, soon 

 after laying them ; and Limntea has been known to eat its 

 progeny when urged by hunger : indeed, many of the terrestrial 

 and fluviatile moUusks, herbivorous by habit, will eat animal 

 food occasionally — especially when, in captivity, they are 

 deprived of their usual food supplies. Far away from land the 

 Carinaria and Firola pursue the floating acalephe, the Janthina 

 varies its diet by occasionally^ swallowing smaller individuals of 

 its own species (Coates); and the argonaut, with his relative, 

 the Spirula, both carnivorous, are found on the " high seas," in 

 almost every quarter of the globe. The most active and rapacious 

 of all are the calamaries and cuttles, who vindicate their high 

 position in the naturalist's " system," by preying even on fishes, 

 as well as lamellibranchs and crustaceans. 



As the shell-fish are great eaters, so in their turn they afford 

 food to many other animals ; fulfilling the universal law of eating 

 and being eaten. They furnish precious resources of alijnen- 

 tation to man. The cephalopods (Octopus, Sepia, Loligo) are 

 captured for the market in the Mediterranean countries, espe- 

 cialh^ in Ital}^), as well as in Japan and China; and dried 

 cuttle-fish are regularly exported from China to San Francisco, 

 California, where the Chinese inhabitants use them for soup. 



Among the marine gastropods Patella, Haliotis, Buccinum 

 undatum^ Littorina, etc., are sent in quantities to the markets of 

 London and Paris ; Murex and Turbo are eaten in Italy ; 

 Strombus gigas and Trochus pica in the West Indies (Beau); 

 Sirombus Luhuanus, Turbo chrysostomiis^ TrocJuis NiloticuH, 

 Patella tesludinaria ^ etc., at New Caledonia (Montrouzier); 

 Dolabella Teremidi, at Tahiti ( Rang) ; Strombus tricornia^ 

 Murex Erythraeus, Melongena paradisiaca, at Suez (Yaillant) ; 

 Fusvs colosseus, Rapana bezoar, Purpura luteoHtoma, on the 

 coast of China (Debeaux); Turbo niger^ Goncholepas PeruvianuSj 

 in Chili (d'Orbigny). A few fluviatile gastropods are eaten : 

 ISTavicella and Neritina by the negroes of the Isle of France 

 (Recluz); Ampullaria effusa^ Neritina punctulata^ hj those of 

 Gruadeloupe, W. Indies (Beau); Paludina by the natives of 

 Cambodia. 



Among the terrestrial gastropods the Helices were most highly 

 esteemed as a dainty dish b}^ the ancient Romans, and they are 

 still regularly sold in large quantities, living or cooked in the 

 markets of France, Spain and Italy. I have seen cooked snails 

 oflfered in the streets of London at one penny per plate. Helix 

 jjomatia^ one of the largest of European snails, is considered 

 still, as it was by the Romans, the best of the edible species, but 

 a number of others are regularly brought to market. Colonies 

 of snail-eating peoples have naturalized their delectable food in 

 distant quarters of the earth ; thus Helix memoralis is estab- 



