ROCKED IN THE CRADLE OP THE DEEP. 95 



"The giant clam, Tridcuyna gigas, would 

 make a 'sliding chariot' large enough for a 

 very good-sized sea nymph. This shell, which 

 is said to be the largest in the world, has been 

 found with its valves nearly two yards long 

 and weighing over five hundred pounds. 

 Should you ever go to Paris and visit the 

 Church of St. Sulpice you will there see two 

 valves of this tridacna which are used for hold- 

 ing ' holy water.' 



" One of the most elegant bivalves is that 

 tridacna known as 'bear's paw.' It is from 

 the Indian Ocean, and is beautifully mottled 

 with yeUow and red. 



" These are only a few of the many varieties 

 of clams suggested by this cradle rocking in 

 the waves. All do not belong to the Venus 

 family, howsoever much by their beauty they 

 may deserve the honor." 



Tom had compared the rocking clam shell 

 to a " mermaid's cradle." In her hall of shells 

 Undine had a dainty chiton, the 0. KatTierina, 

 of which she was very fond. It was really a 

 gem of a cradle. 



The chitons are curious specimens when 

 alive, and death invests them with charms 

 which in life they failed to possess. The shell 

 is made up of eight different pieces so united 



