MOLLUSCA>s 221 
upon the thinnest part of the shell and is perfectly circular, 
of a champhered form, being wider towards the outward side, 
and so perfectly smooth and regular as to have all the ap- 
pearance of the most beautiful work of an expert artist. It 
became a matter extremely desirable to preserve the mus- 
sel, and it seemed practicable to extirpate the buccinum. 
But after we had picked up and destroyed many barrels of 
them, their extirpation was at length given up as a hope- 
less task. The mussels were thus abandoned as their prey, 
and in the course of the third year’s operations, so success- 
ful had the ravages of the buccinwm been, that not a single 
mussel of a large size was to be found upon the rock ; and 
even the small kind which bred there are now chiefly con- 
fined to the extreme points of the rock, where it would 
seem their enemy cannot so easily follow them.” 
The Common Cockle (Cardium edule) would deserve a 
place in preference even to the mussel, were it not exclu- 
sively confined to our sandy coasts and bays. It is found 
lodged in the sand, a few inches below the surface, its place 
being marked by a small depressed spot. Women and 
children easily dig up this shell-fish with a small spade. 
Cockles are sold by measure, and eaten either raw, or boil- 
ed, or pickled. They are deservedly esteemed a delicious 
and wholesome food in this country, although in France 
they are little regarded. They are in season during March, 
April, and May, after which they become milky and insipid. 
They are not generally used as a bait. 
Two kinds of Razor-fish (Solen siliqua and ensis ) are in 
many places of this country used as food. In Scotland they 
are indiscriminately termed Spout-fish. They are found 
upon most of our sandy shores, buried about a foot or two 
below the surface, and near to the low water mark. Their 
