

THE SHELL-FISH OF THE COAST. 21 



coast, where it is extensively used as an article of 

 food, and as fish-bait) by dropping dead cod in a 

 wicker-basket to a muddy bottom, where the ani- 

 mals are easily attracted. The whelk-fishery of 

 Whitestable flat, England, is said to have yielded 

 £12,000 yearly immediately prior to 1866. 



The whelk is a favorite article of food with many 

 fishes, particularly the cod, and as many as 30 and 

 40 of its shells have been taken 

 from the stomach of a single 

 fish. Eventually these shells 

 may become the habitations of 

 one of the numerous species of 

 hermit crab. - Indeed, on the 

 New England coast it is rather 



a rarity to meet with a fresh 

 1 11 (. ^1 T. • 1 ■ 1 • Egg-capsules of whelk. 



shell ot the liuccmum which is 



not already tenanted by a hermit. 



Cast your eyes for a moment from the glistening 

 sands towards the mud-fiats and tide-pools which 

 have been left by the retreating waters. Here, in 

 these quieter realms, you are almost sure to meet 

 with a number of interesting molluscan forms, 

 among which are two or three near cousins of the 

 whelk. They are small snails, whose shells barely 

 measure three-quarters of an inch in length. They 

 are figured on Plate 1, Figs. 5, 11, 6, and are known 

 as dog-whelks {Nassa trivitiaia, Nassa vibex, and 

 Nassa obsoletd). It will be seen that, while the 

 shells differ considerably from those of the true 

 whelk, they still have much the same general char- 

 acter, especially noticeable in th« forni' of the aper- 



