IN SEARCH OF THE DRILL AND 



PERIWINKLE 



And should the strongest arm endeavor 



The limpet from its rock to sever, 



Tis seen its loved support to clasp, 



With such tenacity of grasp, 



We wonder that such strength should dwell 



In such a small and simple shell. 



- WORDSWORTH. 



Not long after our trip to Boston, we again visited the shores of 

 the bay, this time near the little town of Apponaug. Here the shore 

 was covered with rock and various kinds of ocean debris. The beach 

 was muddy and sandy in places, and the water was shallow for a long 

 distance into the bay. A fresh, sea-born breeze was fortunately blowing, 

 tempering the otherwise torrid heat of a July sun. Alighting from the 

 train which had brought us from Providence, we crossed a bridge spanning 

 a small creek, and descending a steep bank, within a few minutes we were 

 at the shore. The tide was at its lowest ebb, and stretching out before 

 us was a wide expanse of mud-flat, with tiny pools here and there, which 

 were inhabited by many of Nature's strange creatures. Far out over 

 this stretch of muddy beach the tide was slowly coming in ; the waves 

 were rolling angrily, but becoming calm and peaceful as they struck the 

 shelving beach, they glided toward us with a soft murmur. 



We walked along the shore, passed numerous groups of men and 

 women who were digging clams, and then started across a broad expanse 

 of beach toward a little creek which flowed into the bay. As we hastened 

 along, little jets of water spouted up on every hand, revealing the pres- 

 ence of soft-shelled clams. Crossing the mouth of the creek, which at 

 low water was but a few inches in depth, we soon came to a pile of rocks, 

 and a small pier which extended into the water to where the depth was 

 considerable. Here the rock-loving sea snails were very abundant, and 

 the old pier was fairly alive with specimens of the drill, a common snail 

 along the coast from Maine to Florida. 



A large-sized individual of the drill measures over an inch in length, 



83 



