190 CURIOUS HOMES AND THEIR TENANTS. 



SEA SHELLS THAT BUILD NESTS, 



AND SOME THAT HAVE MADE IIOJIKS IN THE MARBLE 

 PILLARS OF A TEMPLE. 



If it be thought surprising, as it must be to any 

 one who t'onsiders the matter, that birds with no 

 better apphances than their beaks — as they do not use 

 tlieir claws for the purpose — arc capable of ]ierf( inn- 

 ing the delicate work necessarv in constructing some 

 of the more wonderful masterpieces oi bird architec- 

 ture, and that mammals, reptiles, insects, and e\'en 

 Crustacea, and fish build burrows and nests, what must 

 be tliought of sea shells that do the same thing '{ 



At first sight an ordinary enufi^box, if life and 

 the power of opening and closing its lid were grunted 

 it, might seem as well e(pnpped fur constructing the 

 peculiar and beautiful nest of the Liiiiii himii.s^ or 

 excavating in s<ilid gneiss or granite the burrows of 

 the pholas, as those bivalves themselves. How is it 

 done i Ah, that secret belongs to them, and they 

 have never divulg-ed it to mortal men. It is a ]irize 

 puzzle, and lucky the conchologist who solves it and 

 can prove that he has done so ; he will make his 

 reputation. 



The lima is a lieautiful shell. It is oval-oblique, 

 and opens anteriorly. The edge of the mantle is 

 fringed with long, trailing prcx'csscs of a reddish 

 golden color, that float behind it like the tresses of 



