OYSTERS AND SMALL CLAMS 



53 



I lingered till the rising tide told me in no uncer- 

 tain tones to leave the island immediately if I did 

 not wish to be marooned there all day. And then 

 I tramped back, carrying a few good specimens, a 

 pocketful of pretty fragments, and a heart as light 

 as ocean foam. I had seen the morning vision, and 

 it had shown me life and light and beauty, and the 

 vision had become a part of my being. And you 

 may see the vision too, though you look from far 

 different standpoints. There may be sight without 

 vision, indeed, but happily the vision is waiting for 

 those who wish to see it. 



But leaving visions and 

 all those immaterial things, 

 let me remark that on this 

 walk I found a good many 

 broken shells, which, when 

 perfect, resemble Figure 

 25. This shell is found 

 along the whole coast, and 

 its name is Monia macro- 

 schisma^ Desh., the Pearly 

 Monia. It belongs very 

 closely to the oyster family, but it has decided differ- 

 ences. You will notice that one of the valves is 

 much smaller than the other, and that it also has a 

 large hole in the middle, through which you can see 

 an oval muscle-scar with lines radiating from the 

 center. The small valve is seldom found in the 

 sands, as it usually adheres to the rock to which the 

 whole shell is attached, even after the death of the 

 animal, while the upper valve is torn off by the 



Fig. 25 



