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142 



eiúl comes. The shell is bivalve, but has some cre- 

 taceous appendages on the upper part, and is often 

 six inches long and two brqad. 



Barnacles of various species are found in abun- 

 dance upon all the coast. Of these, one called the 

 parrot-bill (lepas psittacus) is much esteemed by the 

 inhabitants. From ten to twenty of these animals 

 inhabit as many small separate cells, formed in a 

 pyramid of a cretaceous substance. These pyramids 

 are usually attached to the steepest parts of rocks, 

 at the water's edge, and the animal derives its sub- 

 sistence from the sea by means of a little hole at 

 the top of each cell. The shell consists of six valves, 

 two large and four small ; the large ones project ex- 

 ternally in the form of a parrot's bill, from whence 

 the animal has received its name. When detached 

 from the rocks they are kept alive in their cells for 

 four or five days, during which time they occasion- 

 ally protrude their bills as if to breathe. They are 

 of different sizes, though the largest do not exceed 

 an inch in length, and are very white, tender, and 

 excellent eating. 



Of the buccinum and the murex there are like- 

 wise a great number of species. One of the latter, 

 the loco (murex loco) is highly esteemed. It is very 

 white, and of a delicious taste, but rather tough, and 

 in order to render it tender, it is generally beaten with 

 a small stick before it is cooked. The shell is oval, 

 and covered with knots or tuberosities ; the animal 

 is about four or five inches in length, and near the 

 neck has a small vesicle which coittains a few drops 

 of a purple liquor. 



