Cbap. 53.] APPLIANCES OF LUXURY iOUNP IN THE SEA. 429 
tinctions^ of rayed shells, long-haired'^ shells, wavy-haired shells, 
channelled shells, pectinated shells, imbricated shells, reticu- 
lated shells, shells with lines oblique or rectilinear, thick-set 
shells, expanded shells, tortuous shells, shells the valves of 
which are united by one small knot, shells which are held to- 
gether all along one side, shells which are open as if in the 
very act of applauding,^ and shells which wind,^ resembling a 
conch. The fish of this class, known as the shells of Yenus,^^ 
are able to navigate the surface of the deep, and, presenting to 
the wind their concave side, catch the breeze, and sail along on 
the surface of the sea. Scallops are also able to leap^^ and 
fly above the surface of the water, and they sometimes employ 
their shell by way of a bark. 
CHAP. 53. (34.) WHAT NUMEEOUS APPLIANCES OF LUXUKY ARE 
FOUND IN THJ: sea. 
But why mention such trifles as these, when I am sensible 
that no greater inroads have been made upon our morals, and 
no more rapid advances have been made by luxury, than 
those effected through the medium of shell-fish ? Of all the 
elements that exist, the sea is the one that costs the dearest 
to the belly ; seeing that it provides so many kinds of meats, 
® As no two naturalists might probably agree as to the exact meaning of 
the terms here employed, it has been thought advisable to give the passage 
as it appears in the original : " Jam distinctione virgulata, crinita, crispa, 
cuniculatim, pectinatim divisa, imbricatim undata, cancellatim reticulata, 
in obliquum, in rectum expansa, densata, porrecta, sinuata, brevi nodo le- 
gatis, toto latere connexis, ad plausum apertis, ad buccinum recurvis." 
7 In allusion, probably, to the streaks or lines drawn upon the exterior of 
the shell. 
^ With the mouth wide open, like that of a person in the act of ap- 
plauding. 
9 By "ad buccinum recurvis," he probably alludes to a whelk, or fish 
with a turbinated shell, resembling the larger conch or trumpet shell, which 
Triton is sometimes described as blowing. 
10 Probably some of the Cypraea ; which have been already alluded to in 
Note 6 to c. 41 of the present Book. Cuvier remarks, that there are many 
of the univalve shell-fish that float on the surface of the water, but none, 
with the exception of the argonauta or nautilus, are known to employ a 
membranous sail. 
11 Cuvier says, that he has been informed that the scallop, by suddenly 
bringing together the valves of its shell, is able to make a bound, and leap 
above the surface of the water. 
