SOLENID^. 49 



the water previously drawn between the folds of the mantle, 

 he obtains an impulse which jerks him forward a foot or two 

 at a time. 



In places where Salens are sought as food by the com- 

 mon people, the children are very successful in drawing 

 them out by means of bent wires pushed into the hollows. 

 The species of Solen found on our British coasts are — 

 S. marginatus, commonly called 8. vagina : the straightest of 

 all the species, and the most square at the ends ; some- 

 times exceeding four and a half inches in length ; the 

 front termination is edged by a kind of groove ; hinge 

 quite at the end, with one small jutting tooth in each 

 valve. 

 /S. siliqiia : not quite so straight in outline ; rather more 

 round at the forward end, where it has not a groove, 

 but an expansion. 

 S. ensis : narrower than S. marginatus, terminating like 



S. siliqiia, and arched. 

 S. pellucidus : a small arched species, which has the front 

 end rounded out considerably beyond the hinge. The 

 mantle of the animal is so transparent that the flesh- 

 coloursd body can be seen through it. 



