H. G. Adams

“ If we take a peep through a microscope, under the direction of a naturalist named Rymer Jones, we shall see that “the shell of an Oyster is a world occupied by an innumerable quantity of animals, compared to which the Oyster itself is a colossus. The liquid enclosed between the shell of the Oyster contains a multitude of embryos, covered with transparent scales, which swim with ease; a hundred and twenty of these embryos, placed side by side, would make an inch in breadth. ”

“ In shells, as in all the works of the Almighty Creator, we may observe an infinite variety of form, and if they do not all strike us as alike graceful, yet in each, however plain and simple, there is some peculiar beauty, whether it be the mere hollow cup, or the simple tube, the smooth or twisted cone, the slender spire, the convoluted oval, or half circle, ribbed or spiked, with a lip curving out like the leaf of a water lily, or a narrow rim, like that of a golden chalice ”

“ Now as the species in the early rocks differ from those found in later formations, quite as much as the latter from the mollusca of our modern seas, the gradual change in the character of the embedded shells marks a certain interval of time in the world’s history.” So we see that these rocks are the leaves of a great book, written all over with wonderful truths, and those who study such sciences as Geology and Conchology, are enabled to read much that is there written.
Every fossil shell that such a student picks out of the chalk, or limestone, is like a letter in the Alphabet of Creation ”

“ Salpice, at Paris, is a shell of this immense Clam, the valves of which are used as receptacles for holy water; it was presented to Francis the First, by the republic of Venice. Fancy the clapping to of such a pair of valves, when the animal closes its shell in alarm, and the strength of the cable required to moor it to the rocks or coral reef. The spotted species here figured has a solid and heavy shell, very elegantly shaped, and beautifully marked, as will be seen; the greatly reduced size of the figure prevents anything like justice being done to the original. ”

“ We all know that our Common Snails hybernate, or sleep through the winter. As soon as the chills of autumn are felt, they seek out some snug crevice in an old wall, or burrow in the earth, or congregate beneath garden pots, roots of trees, thatched roofs, or in any hole or corner that may be convenient, and then throwing a kind of temporary skin, like a drum head, which naturalists call operculum, over the opening of [20] their shells, and sticking themselves fast to the sides of their refuge, or to each other, they sleep away, careless of frosts and tempests. ”

“ As a ship by its cable, so commonly the Mussel, by its bissus or beard, is made fast to its anchorage-ground, be it pebbly or sandy beach, or jutting rock. Sometimes, however, the mollusk travels, and this is how it manages to do so; it has a stout fleshy foot, in shape something like that of a chubby child, and this it can advance about two inches beyond the edge of the shell, then fixing the point of it to a piece of rock or any other body, and contracting it, the shell is drawn onward, and sure, though slow, progress is made in any desired direction. ”

“ You sometimes hear of a person who leads a monotonous life, and you think perhaps of the Oyster shut up in his shell all alone, one by himself; this notion you now know to be a false one; although it is true that he has but one abductor muscle, and therefore belongs to the division of the Pectinidæ family called Monomyaria, while the Pearl Oyster has two, and therefore belongs to that termed Dimyaria. ”

“ The Pinna, as the marine Mussel is called, has a foot which is cylindrical in shape, and has at the bottom a round tendon, almost as long as itself, the use of which appears to be to gather in and retain the numerous threads with which, when inhabiting the shores of tempestuous seas, it lashes itself fast to the fixed objects around; these threads are fastened at various points, and then drawn tight by the animal, whose instinct teaches it that its brittle shell would soon be broken in pieces, if suffered to roll hither and thither at the mercy of the waves. ”

“ These horns of the snail, then, are its feelers—eyes to the blind, fingers to the fingerless; so God provides for his creatures all that may be necessary for their existence, and compensates for the deprivation of one sense or organ, by some admirable contrivance which meets the necessities of the case. ”

“ When live shells, as they are called, that is having the living fish in them, are obtained, the best plan is to place them in spirits of wine, this at once deprives the inhabitant of life, without injuring the shell, which should then be placed in hot water for a time, the body of the mollusk is thus rendered firm, and may be removed by means of some pointed instrument; care should be taken to leave no portion of animal matter within, or after a while it will become putrid and give out a stain, which will show through and injure the delicate markings of the shell ”

“ Of this family, those belonging to the genus Pholus may be more especially likened to the Edomites of Scripture, because they take up their abode in the rock, and hollow out for themselves dwellings therein. With a shell as thin as paper, and brittle as glass, the wonder is how these Rock-borers work their way into and through hard stones. ”

“ But what about the abductor muscle, above spoken of? well, this must be explained; abduce, coming from the Latin abduco, means to separate, to draw away, hence we have abduction. During the life of an Oyster, the usual and natural state of the shell is that of being kept open for a little distance, to allow the water necessary for its nourishment and respiration to flow in and out; but as a security against danger, it was necessary to furnish the animal with the means of rapidly closing the shell, and retaining the valves in a closed state. ”

“ Among nations, too, in a high state of civilization, shells are often used for economical as well as ornamental purposes. To say nothing of mother-of-pearl, which is converted into so many articles useful as well as pretty, scallop, or oyster shells, are frequently [ix] employed as scoops by druggists, grocers, and the like; and in the country the dairy-maid, with the larger kinds of the same shell, skims her milk, and slices her butter; while sometimes by the poor people of both towns and villages, the deeper specimens are converted into oil lamps. ”

“ The first we stumble upon is Colossus, which comes from the Latin, and means a great image or statue, like that which ancient historians tell us once bestrode the entrance to the harbour of Rhodes. Embryo comes from the Greek, and means something small and unfinished, that is to expand or grow into a more perfect form, as the seed into a plant. Animalculæ, are minute or very small animals, such as cannot be distinguished without the help of a microscope, hence they are sometimes called microscopic animals; this word comes from the Latin animalis, which means having life. ”

“ We give below two figures of the Argonaut, one of which represents him crawling at the bottom of the sea, and the other swimming on the surface.
The True, or Pearly Nautilus, (N. Pompilius,) the origin of whose specific name we have been unable to discover, is much like the Argonaut in appearance and general construction; the shell is externally smoother and more iridescent, it is also generally somewhat thicker than the former kind, and has internally more chambers or divisions; its pearly lustre renders it a beautiful ornament, and the large size it frequently attains a very conspicuous one. ”

“ Many poor persons, especially those who are consumptive, might no doubt derive much cheap sustenance and benefit from using the larger species of Helicidæ, which might be collected from hedges and gardens as food. Why should they not eat those as well as the marine mollusks, such as Oysters, Cockles, Whelks, etc.
Snails have an extraordinary power of re-producing any part which may be injured or cut off, even to the extent of the whole head, as has been observed to be the case; the reparation of injury done to the shell they can effect easily, as can all testaceous mollusks. ”

“ So easily collected, arranged, and preserved, and withal so singular and graceful in form, and rich and various of tint, one cannot wonder that Shells have always had a conspicuous place in all museums, and other collections of natural history objects; neither can we feel surprised that a high value should have been set upon rare specimens; as much as a thousand pounds it is said has been given for the first discovered specimen of the Venus Dione; another shell called the Conus cedo nulli, is valued at three hundred pounds ”

“ The before-mentioned epidermis, which is the Latin for the outer skin of the human body, covers them like a cloak or mantle, which is the name it bears among naturalists. Much careful labour is required to bring them to a fit state for cabinet shells.
Volutes form an extensive family of shells under the name Volutinæ. The greater part are natives of tropical seas, and dwell far down so that they are seldom found on the coast, except after storms. There are a few European species, but these are not remarkable for beauty, as most of the others are. ”

“ It is pronounced tes-ta-shus, comes from the Latin testaceus—having a Shell, and means consisting of, or composed of shells; so we find that a testacean is a shell-fish, and testaceology is the science of shells. Johnson’s second meaning of the word testaceous is ‘Having continuous, not jointed shells, opposed to crustaceous.’ So we find that some naturalists call those testaceous fish, “whose strong and thick shells are entire and of a piece, because those which are joined, as the lobsters, are crustaceous.” ”

“ Here is a lesson for boys and girls; whatever you take in hand, don’t be in a hurry, and if people say you are “slow,” think of the snail, and keep on!
This, then, is a shelled mollusk of the third class, called Gasteropoda, according to the system of the French naturalist Cuvier. It has a distinct head, which, like the hinder part of the body, which we may call a tail if we like, projects, when the creature is in motion, considerably from the shell; it is also furnished with what we commonly call horns, naturalists say tentacles, from the Latin tento—trying, or essaying ”

“ It is on the north-west coast of the Island of Ceylon, in the Indian Ocean, that the Pearl Oyster most abounds, and there it is that the Pearl fishery is conducted in the most extensive, systematic, and successful manner; this fishing commences at the beginning of March, and upwards of two hundred boats are usually employed in it; in each of these boats are ten divers, who go down to the Oyster-beds, five at a time, and so relieve each other; there are besides thirteen other men who manage the boat, and attend to the divers. ”

“ This little mollusk is a quick and active traveller, it sometimes comes out of its shell, and throws itself about in an extraordinary way, keeping fast hold by its foot; the generic name, Physa, would seem to have reference to the round, smooth, delicate shell, and to come from the same root as Physalite, which means a topaz: the members of this genus are very numerous, being found nearly all over the globe. ”

“ The members of the Chiton family are numerous, being [64] found on most rocky shores; they attain the largest size in the hottest climates, having never been found very far north. The British species are small, and not more than two or three in number; they may be found adhering to stones near low-water mark. We give a figure of one of these called the Tufted Chiton, (C. fascicularis;) this word is from the Latin fasciculus—a little bundle of leaves or flowers, and it refers to the hairy tufts that edge the mantle of this marine slug. ”

“ How many thousands of our industrious population depend wholly, or in part, upon the capture and sale of shell-fish for their support. In some parts, as the western and northern Islands of Scotland, they have in times of scarcity afforded sustenance to the dwellers on the bleak and barren shores, who but for them must have perished. ”

“ Which belonging to that division of Natural History called the Mollusca, from the Latin Mollis—soft; these Molluscous animals, then, are animals having a soft body, and no internal skeleton. You may be quite sure that a Mollusk will never break its bones, because it has none to break; it has a shell, however, which may be broken, at least in some cases, for all Mollusks have not snug habitations of the kind; but wander about the watery or earthy world in which they live, quite naked ”

“ THE COMMON SNAIL Is called by naturalists Helix aspersa, the generic name being derived from a Greek word signifying spiral, and having reference to the shape of the shell; the plural is Helices, a term applied to all convoluted or twisted shells, which terminate in a point like a church spire: a spiral-shelled fossil is called a helicate. ”

“ To the first group belong the Common Oyster, and between thirty and forty other living species which are found principally in warm and temperate latitudes. In the Polar ocean none have been discovered, and in the hotter climates they are most abundant, being found in large beds or banks near the coast, and often attached to rocks and even to trees which grow by the water, so that the accounts of some old travellers who stated that they saw Oysters growing upon trees, were not so false as many supposed them. ”

“ The Nautili which swam and sported with them at the depths of the ocean, as is proved by the shells of many species found in the same chalky deposits, have still their living representatives, but those winding galleries and pearly chambers once fragile as paper and brittle as glass, now turned into, and surrounded by solid stone, are all shells of extinct species, and we can hardly see and handle them without some degree of awe and reverence ”

“ The study may seem a little dry at first, but never mind, go on, and you will soon be rewarded for your diligence, by the wonders that will unfold themselves to your understanding—the fresh and delightful views which you will obtain into the wide universe, the new and enlarged ideas of the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, and of the formation, habits, and connexion each with each of his various creatures. ”