Nuhou, Volume II, Number 16, 19 September 1873 — Among our Sea Shells. [ARTICLE]

Among our Sea Shells.

; During our reeent visit to Laoai, \vc haJ ; opportunitj to make a fe\v ol>servatlon? In xesr<,' ! to ;the eoncbology of our island>; or rathcr t v . nat|ural history of our ?ea shells in their r : -itīy element. ";" " 1 ; ■ We t do not ?ind in oiJr Arehīpelagj, t!ie giv:/ bea;uty anel variety, wlueli is to be found on tl.!. ehotes of islands eomposrag the great 3īalaj Aie*»igelago, and on Toraba!ra, T>irera, Malayta 4 il\. ; Louisiade Group. and 6ther islnnds tn:it on the Coral Sea. But we ean make up a varleu aud est!ng eolleetiou out of the rfiolb of our The evprcea ; or eowrie bmily are targely ivp:-; - : sented. In the moss lined interst 101:8, or ; eontbed mdcntatioiis 0! the coral reef neai Miukl. ' yoii TTilI find at low vrater innumeraole speeui*e:'.* ofthecypro?a seottiī, or poreelaine ejwrle, tbe; <f argus," and Y&uetic*; aiui tl;. del|eate wlnte eorrugatlxl eowne, uamed we : v lieyo the cyprcea nuelep. The snia!l the; poreelaiues** are pf lufiiute variety iu tl, aud mottles of thelr lKx\utlful euaiuele : ?urfaee. If you waut eholee ef ,-vv. eovrrie>» they iuust I*o gi\thei\\l from ilie eor." be&> iu deep \vater, Off Kauiaike roiut, wiue i?? marked on Uie EeynoJJs % eliart of blaivlthe;re is a vast bed of bpautiful eoral formatie: : if you go out boatiii£ ou a ealiuday 4 you w"' be iiel%hted iu $uiug vjo\ui through thv tr.u\>li eem \vateic> upon tlie buuclies of jtatescvut eorvJ. t!ie domes or eouei of*the meuuanua ewel'iu*. * or biaii\ |mairejs>iv» tue stylast: Sali>eHiformis, or fan ?dniped or branclmi£ . akp ilie gorgonla Rabollum, \vlth its arboivscx:; formaUou i aud aiuong all thi< s l orubK % ry cf tl.. s=oa|» aud aloug,w!tli it to forui a iuoin.: riu|C jvavtcru\ vavicg-\tcxjl wllli au iug and of vvters, you ean ouv prcttv ?owtk|, thk gm\l ef t-\

gastcro|>ods, or bellj-walkersj tlie eassis glauea> or eoneh sIk;11, You ean Aiui the latter iuorc thon a ioot in length, anel theso large bltells ha?e always been the toesin of these lsles. But look farther s for if you have a heart fbr hatftre, jou vvill be happy, as you glide on a ealm s\veet sea, and watch the u urchiDS > ' uf the deep, or eehinua mamillatus. This is the plaee for them; and we gathered manv of these beautiful fe!lo\vs \vith their bristling armov of lovely tiuted Bpikes, whieh we -sent to Professor Agasslz= Near by them jou may see sOmē elumps of spongeand as you eome in near shore 5 in among the baysand grots of that wild coast, you will see tlie eephalophods. the head feets or squids in abundance ; and our kanakas gather and dry them, and supply the neighboring isles with thls lavorite relish to eat with poi. And nearer in, and along all this broken shore, you will lind dotting the roeks the patella umhella, or limpets ; and espeeially that beautiful variety. the porpita paeillea, or makai auli, whieh has au azure coat of scale mail, with a fringe arouud its dise of enameled pointß, and is like an ornamental boss on the huckler -ef a King. But the most eunons fellows that attraeted and amused us were the periwinkleß ormoliusksVwhose shells serve to form the kupees or braeelets of llawaiian ladies. There are some small 5 l?lack unsightly ones, some white, aud some gray mottled; but there are very pvetty oues of light bufl; yellow 3 and purple shades, with transterse bands of deeper tints. But it*is not the color that interests usj'so mueh as the inhabitants of these apparent gasterojfcdous tenements. These seem to belong to the chaps who loeomole with their bellies, the snails —T)ut as you observv them, out pop from the entry of the molluscous mansion a elaw, and tlien another, and by and by you see a very euii-] ous speckled erab rimning off witli tliis shell. He carries it on his baek, the same as a snail; but by the way that the shell goes you know that there eannoe be a snail inskle, even if vou doirt see the v claws. By and by your perambnlating crab with his dulce domum on his back meets another such locomotive mansion, and if it is about ilie same size the two will stop momentarily togetfier. apparently exchange of news and pass on ; — but if one is muehlarger than the other, thelittle iellow invariably shuts up, draws in hishorns and his elawa, and isprudently " not at home " until the big eea bug |iasscs by. We hnw beeiV amursed lor huur* in watehirt£ the niovements aud manamvres of these curious little .crabs in their domiciles. Now jnaturalists say they;arē burglars wlio broke Into this establishment! and fairly eat the poor aborigtnal gastropod out of housc and home, just as completely as a Caucasian ever ehisteled a red hrother out of his a ncestral dom u u These erabs seem smart enough for such an acha\cuicnt; but for all that it strains our crcdulity too mueh to believe the statement, We notice such a variety <>f sizes, and os we hardly ean suppose that theshell, after detaehed !roiu its tenant and eo-CKeseent eompamon/'wouw continue to grow to accomodate thc hurglariou§ crab, we must that this partieular crab has a domieiliary sliell of hTs own. that he is an honest lioiiseho!der, and has lairly inhented his i'eal estate. Wheu yoa iootv i i n \fter at u kii|u whieh is braukt eomj m l f shells upon t Hawalian ady% \\i \ve ln [ \ou will feel an additional oterest in looking at sue!va braeelet; (on aeeount \ r shelts\ and mat !t e !ed to olwrve for vi»uv*

self the !iab(ts and actforiß uf t!t<v eurk»uß tenarit* of thosc prctty 6holls, It is true, some of the kupee shells are found wlt!i Bnnlls and some with crabs inside.