324 UTILITARIAN ZOOLOGY 



inland tribes east of the Mississippi. Another kind of wampum 

 was made from the shells of Bitsycon carica and B. perversuTn. 

 By staining the wampum with various colours, and disposing 

 these colours in belts in various forms of arrangement, the 

 Indians were able to preserve records, send messages, and keep 

 account of any kind of event, treaty, or transaction. Another 

 common form of money in California was Olivella biplicata, 

 strung together by rubbing down the apex. Button-shaped discs 

 cut from Saxidomus arata and Pachydesma ci'assatelloides, as well 

 as oblong pieces of Haliotis, were employed for the same purpose, 

 when strung together in lengths of several yards." 



Shells are put to various uses in the islands of the Pacific, as, 

 e.g., the making of fish-hooks, spoons, knives, and axe-heads. 

 The ingenious Chinese convert the thin translucent shell of a 

 flat bivalve {^Placima placenta^ into window-panes, grind up 

 cockle-shells for lime, or, by mixing the powder with oil, make a 

 sort of putty. 



Speaking of the West of Scotland, Anderson Smith (in 

 Bendcrlocli) thus describes an old-time practice: — " There is a 

 curious old custom that used formerly to be in use in this 

 locality, and no doubt was generally employed along the sea- 

 board, as the most simple and ready means of arrangement of 

 bargains by a non-writing population. That was, when a bar- 

 gain was made, each party to the transaction got one half of 

 a bivalve shell — such as a mussel, cockle, or oyster — and when 

 the bargain was implemented, the half that fitted exactly was 

 delivered up as a receipt. Thus a man who had a box full of 

 unfitted shells might be either a creditor or a debtor; but the 

 box filled with fitted shells represented receipted accounts. Those 

 who know the difficulty of fitting the valves of some classes of 

 bivalves will readily acknowledge the value of this arrangement." 



Sponges [Poriferd). — The horny skeletons of certain sponges 

 have been used for toilet and other purposes since the times of 

 the ancient Greeks. The best kind of Bath Sponge [Eiispongia 

 offimtalis), known to commerce as "Turkey Sponge", comes 

 from the Mediterranean and Red Sea, as well as the less 

 esteemed Zimocca Sponge iyEiispongia zimocca) and Horse Sponge 

 {Hippospongia equina). Other kinds, both fine and coarse, are 

 imported from the Bahamas, and sponges of commercial value 

 are to be found off Australia and some of the South Sea Islands. 



