The Whelk. 47 



you will see is spira, and a glance at the shell will at 

 once suggest a reason for this ; its long tapering 

 spire consists of twenty-three closely-set gradually 

 increasing whorls. This is a rare shell, whose 



inhabitant has not yet been described by naturalists; 

 several of the marine species closely resemble it in 

 shape. Much more might be said about the Land 

 and Fresh-water Shells, but we must here leave 

 them, having a wide field before us — namely, the Sea 

 or Marine Testacea, one of the most common of 

 which is 



THE WHELK, 



A univalve shell inhabited by a gasteropod mollusk, 

 or, we should rather say, naturally so tenanted, for 

 very frequently it is taken possession of by the Soldier 

 or Hermit Crab, which having no hard covering to 

 protect their soft plump bodies, are obliged to take 

 lodgings where they can get them, and generally 

 prefer the Whelk shell, of which we here give a 

 figure. 



This is one of the commonest of our Marine 



