18 r//K SIIELL-FISII OF THE COAST. 



rowing. There are probably few visitors to the 

 beach who have not observed and pondered over 

 the coiled strings of piirchment-like capsules which 

 here and there dot the Hhoro. Thej' have been 

 likened by some to the rattlesnake rattle, by others 

 they are loosely spoken of as 'sea-weeds,' tmdor 

 which designation many a helpless animal form has 

 been compelled to fall. The capsules on the string 

 are in reality the egg-cases of the pear-conch, 

 and in order to satisfy yourself on this point 

 Hlice open one such, and note the number of 

 embryo conchs that it contains. In the dry cap- 

 sules probably only the minute shells will be 

 found, but in the ribbons that appear fresh and 

 elastic the tiny embryos present themselves in 

 full activity. It will be observed that toward one 

 end of the ribbon the capsules become smaller and 

 smaller, and more distantly removed from one an- 

 other, while toward the opposite end they become 

 larger and more crowded. The attenuated end, if 

 entire, will almost invariably be found to terminate 

 in a pebble or shell-fragment, to which, as to an 

 anchor, it has been secured by the animal imme- 

 diately after extrusion, and for the purpose of ob- 

 taining a firm base of attachment. It may appear 

 remarkable that such a large ribbon should ever 

 have been contained within a single body, for really 

 if wound up it would form a mass even larger than 

 the entire animal. It can only be supposed that 

 the capsules are a long timo in making, appearing 

 gradually one after the other during a considerable 

 period of ribbon-manufacture and extrusion. They, 



