THE LITTLE HARP-SHELL. 
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names are both given in consequence of its general resemblance to these objects, the former 
signifying a spindle, and the latter a distaff. 
At least a hundred species of Spindle-shells are known, and their range extends over 
the greater part of the globe. One large species ( Fusus antiquus ), called, from its color, 
the Red Whelk, is common on European shores, and off some of the coasts of Scotland is 
extensively captured for sale. When the empty shell is held to the ear, the reverberations 
of sounds are gathered in its wide lip, and, being returned to the ear in a broken and confused 
manner, give forth a monotonous sound, rising and falling at intervals, and are thought by 
the uneducated to be the imprisoned murmurs of the waves. For this reason, the shell is 
popularly known as Roaring Buckie. In some places the empty shell is used as a lamp, the 
cavity containing the oil and the wick being drawn through the canal, thus producing a 
charmingly elegant lamp, which even exceeds in beauty the classical forms of the ancients, 
and quite equals them in efficacy. 
Another species, the Giant Spindle ( Fusus colosseus ), is remarkable as being one of the 
largest living examples of the gasteropods. 
The foot of the animal is moderately broad, and the operculum is small, and shaped not 
unlike a sea mussel-shell. The color of the Spindle-shell is nearly white, and almost uni- 
formly tinted, but darkening slightly towards the point. 
We now arrive at another and rather larger family, of which the common Whelk is a 
familiar example. 
This is one of the most carnivorous of our mollusks, and among the creatures of its own 
class is as destructive as the lion among the herds of antelopes. Its long tongue, armed with 
row upon row of curved and sharp-edged teeth, harder than the notches of a file, and keen as 
the edge of a. lancet, is a most irresistible instrument when rightly applied, drilling a circular 
hole through the thickest shells as easily as a carpenter’s centre-bit works its way through a 
deal board. 
The front of the tongue often has its teeth sadly broken, or even wanting altogether, but 
their place is soon supplied by others, which make their way gradually forward, and are 
brought successively into use as wanted. As a general rule, there are about a hundred rows 
of teeth in the Whelk’s tongue ; each row contains three teeth, and each tooth is deeply cleft 
into several notches, which practically gives the creature so many additional teeth. 
The sweeping curves, broad swelling lip, and regular ridges, of the next genus of shells, 
have earned for them the popular title by which they are known. 
About nine or ten species belong to this pretty genus, some of which are rare and costly. 
The Imperial Harp-shell is still a valuable shell ; but in former days, when the facilities 
of commerce were far less than at present, it could only be purchased at a most extrava- 
gant rate. A small specimen is now valued at from two to five dollars, and a fine one will 
cost about fifteen dollars ; but, in former days, as much as two hundred and fifty dollars 
have been paid for a specimen. A similar diminution has taken place in the cost of 
nearly all shells. 
The Harp-shells are only found in the hottest seas, and are taken mostly on the shores of 
the Mauritius, Ceylon, and the Philippine Islands. They frequent the softer and more muddy 
parts of the coast, and prefer deep to shallow water. None of the Harp-shells possess the 
operculum. 
The color of the Imperial Harp is pale chestnut and white, with a dash of yellow arranged 
in tolerably regular and slightly spiral bands. 
The Little Harp-shell is a darker species, and one that seldom attains a greater length 
than an inch and a half. The peculiar foot is very large, broad, and leaf-shaped, and has 
a deep fissure just behind the tentacles, nearly cutting the organ asunder. It is said that, 
when the animal is irritated, the fissure becomes widely expanded. Some writers say 
that, if the animal is very much terrified, it withdraws itself into its home with such 
rapidity that the expanded front of the foot is unable to contract sufficiently, so that the 
