The  Rev.  A.  H.  Cooke1116  also  informs  us  that  in  Papua,
"village  elders  are  distinguished  by  a  single  Ovuhun
verrucosum,  worn  in  the  centre  of  the  forehead."

The  fact  that  the  shell  figured  by  Holmes  is  ground
down  on  the  back,  as  is  done  in  the  case  of  money -
cowries  in  India,  Africa,  and  other  places,  is  of  no  little
interest.  Such  an  arbitrary  method  of  perforation  does

195  The  well-defined  tubercles  at  the  extremities  confirm  this  identifi-
cation.    Compare,  Tryon's  "Manual  of  Conchology,"  vii.,  1885,  pi.  5,  fig.
56-58  (Ovulidce)  ;  Reeve,  "  Conchologia  Iconica  :  Monograph  of  the  Genus
Ovulum,"  1865,  pi.  i.,  fig.  2.
196  «  Molluscs,"  Camb.  Nat.  Hist.,  vol.  iii.,  London,  1895,  p.  99.
Use  of  Cowry- shells  for  Currency,  Annilets,  etc.        193

not  seem  to  have  been  usual  in  shells  other  than  cowries,
either  in  America  or  anywhere  else.
It  is  remarkable  that  after  so  many  years,  and  with
the  yearly  increase  of  knowledge,  the  two  shells  figured
by  Holmes  should  have  remained  undetermined.  They
are  reproduced  along  with  the  other  shells  of  Holmes'
plate  by  H.  Beuchat,  on  page  145  of  his  "Manuel
d'Archeologie  Americaine"  (Paris,  1912),  but  no  further
details  are  added.
