NATURAL HISTORY of NORWAY. 171 



of flime and water, and only a fmall Filh of a black, or dark red 

 colour ; and from this little body there runs, into all the turnings 

 and windings of the fhell, a great number of fine threads ; thefe 

 feem compofed of a thicker flime, or perhaps are a kind of guts : 

 they have a communication with the external prickles ; and be- 

 tween thefe ufually there is difpofed, in ftripes, a great deal of 

 yellowifh fpawn. The Fifh lies in the fhell ftretched from the 

 bottom to the top ; and there is, in that part, a fmall, and almoft 

 imperceptible opening, like the anus : through this the excre- 

 ments pafs, which confift of feveral fmall black grains. The 

 mouth, as I obferved before, is on the flat fide ; it is extremely 

 curious, and is formed of five bones, part convex, and part con- 

 cave, all running to a fmall point, where they join together like 

 •the bill of a bird, and look fomething like a flower. Gefher, 

 Lib. iv. de Aquatil. p. 416, defcribes this creature pretty exactly, 

 and fays of the mouth in particular, that in the whole ocean there 

 is nothing more curious, or more beautiful. " Tarn mirabili 

 ftupendoque artificio funt conftrucla & coelata, ut nihil fit in toto 

 mari elegantius, fpe&atuque jucundius." 



The Sea-urchin is found on a fandy bottom, and rolls himfelf 

 about with his prickles wherever he pleafes. When the tide 

 happens to fall on a fudden, they become a prey to the crow, 

 and other birds. Gafp. Schottus relates, in his Phyfica Curiofa, 

 L. x. c. xv. that when they (probably by natural inftincl: given 

 them, and all other creatures, by the wife Creator, for their 

 prefer vation) perceive ftormy and bad weather coming on, they 

 lay hold of a pebble to make themfelves heavy, and with that 

 fix themfelves to the bottom of the fea, which the failors look 

 upon as a fign of bad weather % - He alfb relates that the Sici- 

 lians, whofe tafte muft be very different from ours, reckon this 

 creature to be delicate food \ they break the fhell, and eat the 

 infide raw with fpoons. C( Qui cochlear! utuntur cum ovis &£ 

 excrementa deglutiunt. Hos per jocum dicebam abfumere cum 

 ovis a&um parvum 6C magnum (i* at to piccolo e grande^ dkere 

 volebam urinam 8t ftercora eorum f . How this fhell (which, 

 without doubt, is an excellent abfbrbent) may be ufed to advan- 

 tage in phyfic, is fhown by Ol. Wprmius, in Mufeo, p. 261. 



* This was known in Pliny's time ; for he fays, " Tradunt, fevitiam maris pras- 

 fagire eos, correptifque operari lapillis mobilitatem pondere flabilientes. Nolunt volu • 

 tatione fpinas atterere, quod ubi videre nautici, flatim pluribus ancoris navigia infrse- 

 nant. H. Nat. Lib. ix. c. xxxi. 



t Dr. Shaw, in his Voyage to the Levant, calls this creature a Sea-egg ; and fays, 

 that it is only the roe that is fit to be eaten with pepper and vinegar, particularly at the 

 time of the full moon. See T. i. p. 336. 



We 



