Excerpt from A Conchological Dictionary of the British Islands The elegance and simplicity in the contour or shape of shells, the richness and variety of their colors, and the singularity in many of their forms, have ever excited attention to this confined but in teresting department of created nature and the comparative facility with which they may be col lected and arranged, together with the durability of their structure, make them peculiarly adapted for the display ofa cabinet. Their uses, however, have not been entirely confined to the gaze of curiosity, or to fanciful embellishment. The inhabitants of many of them give a rich and nutritious food. The greater part of the lime used in America, for agri. Cultural and architectural purposes, is made of cal cined shells the public streets of Christianstadt and Santa Cruz, are paved with the Strombus Gigas; and the town of Conchylion is entirely built of marine shells. The blue and White belts of the Indians of North America, as symbols of peace and amity, in opposition to the war hatchet, and by which the fate of nations is often decided, are made of the Venus mercenaria; and the gorget of the chieftain's war-dress is formed of the Mytiv lus margaritiferus. The military horn of many African tribes is the Murex Tritonis the rare vav riety of which, with the volutions reversed, is held. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.