young children, who have held them to 

 their ears to "hear the sound of the 

 roaring sea." 



In habits the Cowries are shy and they 

 are slow in movement, sliding over the 

 coral reefs and marine vegetation with a 

 sluggish, steady motion. They present 

 a beautiful sight when viewed through 

 the water, their brilliant colors vying 

 with those of corals, sea anemones and 

 sea weeds. They are said to feed prin- 

 cipally upon the coral animals. 



From very ancient times the smaller 

 Cowries have been used for adornment 

 or barter. The Cypraea annulus, or 

 ringed cowrie, which was found by Dr. 

 Layard in the ruins of Nimiroud, is said 

 to be the same species which is now used 

 by the islanders of the Indian and Pacific 

 islanders of the Indian and Pacific 

 Oceans to weight their fish nets and to 

 adorn their persons. In western Africa 

 the money cowry (Cypraea moneta) has 

 been and is now used as a medium of 

 exchange in place of gold. Many tons 

 were yearly shipped to England from 

 the Indian and Pacific Oceans, to be 

 again carried to Africa to barter with 

 the natives for ivory and other articles. 



The number of Cowries which have 

 been given for various articles, with their 

 value in American currency, is interest- 

 ing. Thus it is recorded by the Conchol- 

 ogist Reeve that a gentleman residing at 

 Cuttack in India paid for the building of 

 his bungalow entirely in Cowries, giving 

 over sixteen million specimens. The 

 value of these Cowries was four thou- 

 sand rupees sicca in Indian money, or 

 about two thousand dollars in American 

 money. In another place it is recorded 

 that a young wife cost from sixty thou- 

 sand to one million Cowries, or from 

 about nineteen dollars to thirty-seven 

 dollars, while an ordinary wife cost but 

 twenty thousand shells or about six dol- 

 lars. 



The value of Cowries varies in differ- 

 ent countries. In India five or six thou- 

 sand may be purchased for one rupee, ' 

 while _ in parts of Africa two hundred 

 Cowries are worth sixteen cents. In 

 Sudan, two thousand Cowries, which 

 weigh about seven pounds, are worth 

 one dollar. On the west coast of Africa, 

 where trading in Cowries is largely car- 



ried on, the following gradation of value 

 is recorded by Dr. Stearns : 



40 Cowries =: i string. 

 2J/2 strings 3= i pence. 

 100 Cowries =r i pence. 

 50 strings =z i head of Cowries. 

 10 heads = I bag. 

 2,000 Cowries = i head. 

 3 heads =: i dollar. 

 20,000 Cowries =: i bag. 



In Other places the value is about is. 

 3d. for 1,000 shells. 



The money cowry is also used as or- 

 naments on the trappings of horses and 

 elephants, as well as on the persons of 

 men and women. The rich yellow va- 

 riety is much sought after by the chiefs 

 of several island tribes, who permit no 

 one but themselves or their sub-chiefs to 

 wear them. 



We may truly say that of all the mol- 

 lusks, large or small, handsome or ugly, 

 the modest little money cowry surpasses 

 any in point of economical importance. 



In the Friendly Islands the orange 

 cowry (Cypraea aurantia) is used as a 

 badge of chieftainship and for a long 

 time specimens were almost priceless be- 

 cause no one but the chief was allowed 

 to wear this ornament. Specimens of 

 this species are frequently seen in collec- 

 tions, with a hole in the back by means 

 of which it was suspended about the neck 

 of the native chief. 



Those who have described the Cowries 

 have given them many fanciful names, 

 some of which, however, are quite appro- 

 priate. Thus we have the caput serpentis 

 or serpent's head; the arabica or Arab 

 shell, so named from the peculiar, hiero- 

 glyphic-like characters on its back; the 

 lynx, pantherina and tigris, each shell 

 resembling the coat of the lynx, panther 

 and tiger ; mus, the rat shell ; rhinoceros, 

 the rhinoceros shell; turdus the thrush, 

 and cervus the deer. Many of the other 

 names are equally well chosen, as moppa 

 the mop cowry, and pustulata the pustu- 

 lose cowry. 



It is interesting to note the prices that 

 have been paid for rare specimens of this 

 family. At an auction held in London many 

 years ago a specimen of Cypraea guttata 

 brought two hundred dollars, and Cy- 

 praea princeps, another very rare shell, 

 brought the same price. Cypraea um- 

 bilicata once sold for one hundred and 



89 



