with some tellen shells. We were each fortunate enough to find 

 a specimen of the Tayelus. 



Just before reaching the steamer, we walked along a ridge of land 

 a little above high tide, which was literally packed with the shells 

 of different kinds of mollusks. Here were clams, oysters, scallops, 

 drills, heart shells, moon shells, slipper shells, and a host of others. 

 Among these were a number of heavy, rounded shells, which the Pro- 

 fessor called quahogs. One of these was alive, and we saw that it 

 had a large foot, and two short, thick siphons. The hinge differed 

 very much from that of the soft-shelled clam, and was very much 

 like that of the fresh-water clam, excepting that it was much broader, 

 and the lateral teeth were heavier. The anterior part of the shell 

 also showed a plainly marked lunule. 



All were particularly interested in the ark shells, with their heavy, 

 radiating ribs, and their peculiar hinge, which bore about forty little 

 teeth in each valve. The Professor reminded us that we had now 



seen three types of hinges ; the 

 clam, without pronounced teeth; 

 the ark, with many small teeth, 

 and the fresh-water clam and qua- 

 hog, with well-marked cardinal and 

 lateral teeth. 



Our ride home was one never 

 to be forgotten. It was twilight 

 when the steamer left the wharf, 

 and as we steamed slowly up the 

 bay the darkness deepened, the 

 beautiful tints of the western sky 

 faded slowly away, and night settled over us like a huge curtain. 

 Along the shore, the lights in the cottages began to appear, and in 

 a little while the full moon rose and cast its beams over the dancing 

 waves. An hour later, we landed at Providence, tired and hungry, but 

 filled with the satisfaction that only the born naturalist can experience 

 after a day of successful collecting and communion with Nature. 



68 



