16 



THE SHELL-FISH OF THE COAST. 



sole purpose appears to bo the protection of the 

 eggs which are deposited within it. 



A live Argonaut was captured at Long Branch 

 in August, 1876, and its habits in confinement 

 watched for a period of some eight or nine days. 

 When not swimming, the animal frequently re- 

 verses its position, crawling about with its shell on 

 its back in the manner of a snail; at other times, 

 again, ^ it is said to paddle about much like an 

 oarsman. 



MAKINE SNAILS. 



The ocean has retreated, and upon the broad 

 strand that shelves grad- 

 ually to the still breaking 

 crest, myriads of shells 

 and shell-fragments lie 

 scattered about in curling 

 zigzags. Among these 

 we recognize the spiral 

 shell of the snail, and the 

 half-shell of the clam and 

 its allies; more rarely, 

 both valves of the latter 

 are found, still firmly 

 united by the binding 

 ligament. Some of these 

 contain the living animal, 

 but by far the greater 

 number have been robbed 



peae-conch {Fuigur carica). of their possessors by the 

 billows that consigned them to futurity. 



Of the snails the form that is most apt to at- 



