SEA-URCHINS. 115 



shell, and maintained that the contrary was the 

 case, and that there was a muscular attachment 

 connecting the crustacean to its house."" 



Although old Rondeletius and others had 

 previously certified to the truth of Aristotle's 

 narrations, yet the faith of many, such as the 

 French commentator Camus, was shaken by the 

 great Dutchman's positive assertions, and re- 

 putation for accurate observation. Yet was 

 the father of natural history right after all. 

 And that he had observed most carefully is 

 evident from his details respecting the several 

 kinds of these hermit crabs and the variety of 

 their borrowed habitations. 



Sea-urchins are frequent on this coast as else- 

 where in the iEgean, and are esteemed as an 

 article of food by the Greeks. The species 

 which is most abundant is the purple sea- 

 egg, Echinus lividus, and it is that which is 

 chiefly used. The variety most frequent has 

 very long slender purple spines. The ovaries 

 are eaten. This is doubtless the first of the 

 kinds of tytvoQ mentioned by Aristotle,f of 

 which, he says, the eggs are large and good 



* Biblia Naturae, p. 196. 

 t Ilepi Zioior, 3. v. 



i 2 



