Is a curious animal, and ought to be recorded here for the wonderful singularities of his habits. This animal, when divested of its shell, is somewhat like a lobster; it is about four inches in length, has no shell on the hinder part, but is covered down to the tail with a rough skin; it is armed with strong hard nippers. This Crab has not been provided by nature with a shell, and is obliged to seek for one which can fit him, and has been deserted by its legitimate tenant; but as this covering does not proceed from himself, and does not grow of course proportionally with him, he is forced out of it by his increasing bigness, and finds himself under the necessity of looking out for a new one; it is curious to see him when in want of a new house, how he crawls from one empty shell to another, examining and trying his new habitation; and sometimes, when two competitors happen to eye the same premises, a great contest arises, and of course the strongest gets the manor. They are very common on several coasts of England, and we had a fine opportunity of examining them at Exmouth,

in Devonshire; where, among the rocks and pebbles on the shore, a great quantity of these curious fishes are to be found. They live upon small vegetables, and smaller insects which they find in the puddles which the tide leaves behind.

THE SHRIMP AND PRAWN.

THE first is a well known small crustaceous fish of the lobster kind. It has long slender feelers, between which are two projecting laminæ. It has three pair of legs and five fins, but no claws. All the sandy shores of Great Britain breed this insect, and its flavour is vey delicate.

THE PRAWN

Is not unlike the shrimp, but exceeds it in size, being at least ten times as big; and in colour, having, when boiled, the most beautiful pink tint all over its body. The flesh is better tasted than that of the shrimp.

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LIKE the oyster, the Muscle inhabits a bivalve shell, to which he adheres, as others of that species, by a strong cartilaginous tye. The shells of several muscles are beautiful. The muscle possesses the perty of locomotion, which he performs with that member called the tongue of the muscle; by this tongue he gets hold of the rock, and by moving it along, is enabled to change his situation; he has also the property of emitting some kind of threads, which fixing at the sides of the shell upon the ground, answer the purpose of cables to keep the body of the fish steady.

The Chama, which is akin to the muscle, was used by the ancients to engrave various figures upon, from which circumstance, those small bas-reliefs, so valued now, have obtained among the Italians and collectors the name of Cameos. The shells of some of these are decorated with red or yellow stripes, diverging from the hinge, and spreading to the edges. The Giant Chama has been found to weigh more than 500 pounds, and the fish within large enough to furnish a meal for 120 men.

THE ADMIRAL,

THE shell of a species of the Voluta, is called so for its uncommon beauty. The inhabitant of it is a slug, or snail, as most of those of the univalve kind. If Nature have taken a delight in painting the wings of birds, the skins of quadrupeds, and the scales of fishes, she seems not to have been less pleased in pencilling the shells of these inhabitants of the deep. The variety, brightness, and versatility of the colouring, has been for a long space of time the deserving object of man's admiration; and in several places we cannot help being astonished at the richness, which a cabinet of well selected shells presents to the eye.

The manner of preparing the shells, and of bringing out their beautiful colours, is simple, and yet requires great attention. The crust must be rubbed gently with spirit of salt, and soon washed with clear water; this process will cleanse the shell, and display the wonderful brilliancy, which was hidden under the first coat.

THE Snipe, a shell fish, so called on account of the curious length of a certain prominency coming out

of the shell. It is surrounded with blunt prickles, and the colour of the whole is elegantly variegated. THE WILK

BELONGS to the family of the Turbines. It is the shell, which the soldier crab generally adopts for his temporary abode; not having been furnished by Nature with those calcareous juices, which produce a shell.

Is a univalve shellfish, the shape of which is pyramidal; it adheres to the rock with such strength, that no human force can make it leave its hold, unless it is crushed by a strong blow. The apex of the shell is sometimes sharp, sometimes obtuse, and often surrounded with points and sharp prickles. When cleaned by proper means, the shell is found sometimes of a beautiful purple tint, sometimes emits rays of reflected light of an uncommon brilliancy. They are found on the rocks, which are incessantly beaten by the surges and breakers on the seashores of almost every country in the world. The rays of variegated colours, which issue from their tops, are sometimes found of the most vivid hues, and the animal, that lives under this magnificent roof, or versicolored