tes
from one to five or six feet. The entrance to these retreats leading
from the river into the bank is generally a few inches below the
surface, so that the fish can return to the water at pleasure. The mode
of catching them is by introducing the hand into these holes; and the
_bora-chungs_ are found generally two in each chamber, coiled
concentrically like snakes. It is not believed that they bore their own
burrows, but that they take possession of those made by land-crabs. Mr.
Campbell denies that they are more capable than other fish of moving on
dry ground. From the particulars given, the _bora-chung_ would appear to
be an _Ophiocephalus_, probably the _O. barka_ described by Buchanan, as
inhabiting holes in the banks of rivers tributary to the Ganges.

[Footnote 1: Paper by Mr. J.T. PEARSON, _Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng._, vol.
viii p. 551.]

[Footnote 2: _Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng._, vol. xi. p. 963.]

CHAP. XI.

SHELLS.

* * * * *

_Mollusca.--Radiata, &c._

Ceylon has long been renowned for the beauty and variety of the shells
which abound in its seas and inland waters, and in which an active trade
has been organised by the industrious Moors, who clean them with great
expertness, arrange them in satin-wood boxes, and send them to Colombo
and all parts of the island for sale. In general, however, these
specimens are more prized for their beauty than valued for their rarity,
though some of the "Argus" cowries[1] have been sold as high as _four
guineas_ a pair.

[Footnote 1: _Cypraea Argus_.]

One of the principal sources whence their supplies are derived is the
beautiful Bay of Venloos, to the north of Batticaloa, formed by the
embouchure of the Natoor river. The scenery at this spot is enchanting.
The sea is overhung by gentle acclivities wooded to the summit; and in
an opening between two of these eminences the river flows through a
cluster of little islands covered with mangroves and acacias. A bar of
rocks projects across it, at a short distance from the shore; and these
are frequented all day long by pelicans, that come at sunrise to fish,
and at evening return to their solitary breeding-places remote from the
beach. The strand is literally covered with beautiful shells in rich
profusion, and the dealers from Trincomalie know the proper season to
visit the bay for each particular description. The entire coast,
however, as far north as the Elephant Pass, is indented