Collecting 7 



stone breakwaters and docks. It may be used also for obtaining speci- 

 mens living on hard or sandy bottoms. 



The oyster tongs. Oyster tongs, generally used by fishermen for tak- 

 ing oysters from shallow water, may be used for collecting other bottom 

 animals. This much used implement (Fig. 4) is made of a pair of rakes 

 attached to the lower ends of two 

 long handles fastened together like 

 the blades of shears. The rakes are 

 so fitted together that they rest 

 upon the bottom parallel to each 

 other when the handles are spread. 

 By bringing the handles together 

 the instrument is closed and the 

 teeth of each rake interlock. The 

 rakes are about 14 inches wide with 

 the teeth 3-4 inches long and placed 

 about 1% inches apart. Oyster 

 tongs are usually available in four 

 sizes, 8, ic, 12, and 16 feet long, 

 although 20 foot handles are some- 

 times used by the fishermen. Tong- 

 ing may be efficiently carried out 

 even by an inexperienced collector 

 in water less than 12 feet deep. 



The digger. The most universal 

 way of obtaining mollusks, worms, 

 and other forms inhabiting muddy 

 bottoms, is with rakes. The sim- 

 plest type is the ordinary potato 

 digger (Fig. 5) with four to six long 

 thin prongs, and fitted with a handle about 5 feet long. The digger may 

 be conveniently used on the exposed tidal flats. For working under 



Fig. 4. — The oyster tongs. 



Fig. 5. — The digger. 



