Stash Holomego, age 10, of St. Catharines, Ont., Canada, for his question:

HOW IS A SEASHELL FORMED?

From the very beginning of time, shells have played important roles in the lives of men. At first seashells were used for tools and later as decorations and jewelry. There's even talk of shelis in mythology. And they've been used as musical instruments.

In many early cultures of man, the shell was used instead of money. The North American Indians, for example, used strings of shells which they called wampum.

The shell is a hard, outer, protective covering of various forms of animals. They are formed by hardened secretions produced by special glands in the animals' bodies.

The largest shells found today are those of the giant clams of the western Pacific. They measure up to four feet in length.

Frank'Lloyd Wright, one of the greatest architects in the world, was a great fan of the shell when he was alive and winning honors for his artistic designs. And he summed up his thoughts on the shell very well in this comment:

"Here in these shells we see the housing of the life of the sea. It is the housing of a lower order of life, but it is a housing with exactly what we lack  inspired form. In this collection of houses or hundreds of small beings, who themselves build these houses, we see a quality which we call invention.

"The beauty of their variations is never finished,'' Wright continued. "It is not a question of principle of design. This multitudinous expression indicates what design can mean. Certainly Divinity is here in these shells in their humble form of life."

Shells, the scientists say, have most likely been around for more than 500 million years.

All mollusks have shells made by limy material. One type, the mussel, builds his shell by a special part of his body called the mantle. The surtace cells at the edge of the mantle have the power of separating the carbonate of lime from the blood of the mollusk; and when the lime is thrown out to the surface, it hardens and takes the form of shell. '

Shells have always intrigued man. Very pleasing is their variety of color, structure, shape and texture which seems almost inexhaustible.

We can certainly understand why they have fascinated and enchanted people through the ages, and why so many people today enjoy collecting them. They are truly very special gifts or nature.