66 
may be feen in river and fea Snails. But what 
feems to me a greater paradox is, that fome 
infects frame their fhelly coverings, and weave 
their little nets under water, like Silk-worms, 
out of {mall and glutinous filaments; fo that 
thefe threads, which are fpun from a fine and 
fubtle humour, acquire their firmnefs, tena- 
city and hardnefs even in water, as well as the 
threads of Silk-worms do in the air. I can thew 
fome very rare and uncommon experiments on 
this head in the water thell-fith which I pre- 
ferve. Let me add, that I have feen a Snail 
die the third day after I had taken it out of its 
fhell; though in feparating it I had hurted 
CP AEP ark 
Of the Hermit fifh, and Pinna Marina. 
tions of the turbinated fells. 
The B-O 0. of N@ARTIU RB or, 
none of the blood veffels, and had likewife 
carefully left untouched that part of the fhell 
wherein the mufcles were inferted ; but that 
Snail before its death preffed out a certain 
membrane round the whole furface of its 
body. This membrane was the fame in all re- 
{pects as that on which I have made the pre- 
ceeding experiments, and was intended by 
nature to fupply a new fhell. In the beginning 
the Snail was very fprightly ; but afterwards 
it infenfibly languifhed more and more, and at 
length, contracting itfelf under its verge, it 
died. Here end my obfervations on this {pecies 
of Snails, 
Ps XI. 
Of the inward turnings or convolu- 
Of the Voluta or Cylinder, the Concha V eneris, 
and Pencil, and fome other fells of the Snail kind. 
F all the things I have advanced in the pre- 
ceding chapter be attentively weighed and 
confidered, it will appear clear as the light at 
noon, that the Snail’s thell is its real bone, 
without which it cannot live. Hence it ap- 
pears what an idle fable that is which is efta- 
blifhed even amongft thofe who ftudy fhell- 
fithes, when they fhew fome of the Crab kind 
in their mufeums, adding at the fame time 
that they pafs from one {hell to another, de- 
vour the animals that lived in thofe fhells, and 
keep them for their own habitations. They 
dignify them with founding names and addi- 
tions, as Soldiers, Hermits, and the like; and 
thus, having no experience, they commit 
grofs errors, and deceive themfelves as well as 
others with their idle imaginations. 
Some years fince, when I was at the Hague, 
I employed fome fifhermen who lived at Sche- 
veling, to bring me all the ftrange fifhes which 
they fhould catch. It fo happened that among 
the reft they brought many fmall Crabs, ‘Tab. 
XI. fig. 1. ¢@; each of which lived ina kind of 
twifted, round, fmooth and polifhed fhell; 
but when I viewed the animals themfelves 
more accurately, I obferved that they refem- 
bled Crabs only in their fore part, that is, they 
had four feet gg, and two forceps, of which 
the right e was much ftronger and thicker, 
than the left # I further faw there two ten- 
der feelers or horns dd, and two prominent 
eyes ¢; and under the latter there were placed 
fome other fmall parts. The inward part or 
body of this Crab was fixed to the pillar of 
the fthell, by the tendons of its mufcles, but 
otherwife it was foft and confolidated, as in 
Wilks and other Marina or fea Snails. 
Ariftotle and Atlian tell us, that in fome 
thells there are both a Crab and Snail toge- 
ther; hence the Crab has got the name of 
Pinnophylax or fhell-keeper. Thefe anthors 
likewife harbour another ingenious opinion, 
which is, that the Crab provides food for its 
companion the Snail; fo that thefe two little 
animals live it feems, and have all neceflaries, 
in common, which is an admirable thing, and 
which has given fome authors occafion to 
frame feveral parables, and make various mo- 
ral reflections. {tis beyond doubt that this 
animal they defcribe was likewife a f{pecies of 
the Cancellus or Hermit Crab, one part where- 
of, that which provides neceffaries, and creeps 
out of the fhell, is covered with a hard cruft; 
but that which remains within the {hell is 
the foft and tender part of the body; and as 
the fhell ferves in this part inftead of a skin 
or covering, there was therefore no need of 
a teftaceous cover or cruft, as we have already 
obferved with refpect to the Cancellus. 
The Pinna is a fpecies of the Oftracoder- 
mon, and is at this time called Vinne in the 
Netherlands, by thofe who have a curiofity 
for things of this nature; becaufe, perhaps, 
the animal living within feeks its prey by 
violence, and catches and kills lefs creatures, 
with its forceps. It may poffibly alfo have its 
name from hence, that its fhell is commonly 
as thin as the fin of a fifth, and when ftript of 
its skin, is tranfparent like the fcales of fithes. 
This fhell is contracted into a fharp or pointed 
end on one part. In my father’s mufeum are 
many {pecimens of thofe fhells, which are 
called by fome prickly Mufcles. 
I fhall not deny that fmall Crabs are 
frequently found in the fhells of fea Snails, 
when their inhabitants have been killed 
and taken out of them; nay, and fometimes 
Star-fith are found in the fame manner, for I 
faw this very thing in the town of Petten, on 
the fea coaft. But this happens only by 
chance, and thefe little animals cannot ftay 
long in thofe habitations ; when hunger begins 
to incite, they go out for food. Thus, when 
I was looking for infe@ts, I have, in sage 
wit 
