The Boat's Sail, Spread Under The Shade Of
A Tree, Kept The Intense Heat A Little At Bay Until After
Dinner, and this
most essential part of the day's programme have been done ample justice to,
and the pipes lighted
And smoked out, we wandered about the long space left
bare by the tide, amusing ourselves by collecting oysters, cowrie shells,
and periwinkles.
The way we captured the two latter was by turning over the rocks, to the
under sides of which we found them adhering in great numbers, sticking on
like snails to a garden wall. Some of the cowries were very beautiful,
particularly those of a deep brown colour approaching to black. This kind,
however, were rather rare, and the lucky finder of a large one excited some
envy. These beautiful little shells are of all sizes, from half an inch to
two inches in length. When the stone is first turned over, the fish is
almost out of its home, and the bright colour of the shell is hidden by a
fleshy integument, but a few seconds suffice for it to withdraw within
doors, and then the mottled pattern is seen in its full beauty. The best
way to get the shell without injury to its gloss, is to keep the fish alive
in a bucket of salt water, until you reach home, and then to dig a hole a
couple of feet deep, and bury them. In a month or so, they may be taken
up, and will be found quite clean, free from smell, and as bright in hue as
during life.
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