

HANDBOOK OF SHELLS. 39 



either on a long bamboo, or, better still, on one of those ingenious 

 Japanese walking-stick fishing-rods. For heavier work, how- 

 ever, such as getting fresh-water mussels and other mollusca from 

 the bottom, you will require a net something like the accom- 



Fig. 2. Net for taking water-snails. 



panying figure (Fig. 2), about one foot in diameter. This, 

 when attached to a long rope, may be thrown out some distance 

 and dragged through the water-weeds to the shore, or if made 

 with a square instead of a circular mouth, it may be so weighted 

 that it will sink to the bottom, and be used as a dredge for catch- 

 ing the mussels which live half-buried in the mud. To carry the 

 water-snails home, you will find it necessary to have tin boxes 

 (empty mustard-tins are the best), as match-boxes come to pieces 

 when wetted. 



The finest collections of shells, however, are to be made at the 

 sea-side, for the marine mollusca are both more varied in kind and 

 more abundant than the land and fresh-water ones, and quite an 

 extensive collection may be made in the course of an afternoon's 

 ramble along the shore ; it is necessary, however, to carefully 

 reject such specimens as are worn by having been rolled by the 

 waves upon the beach, as they are not of any great value in a 

 collection ; it is better, in fact, if possible, to go down to the 

 rocks at low water and collect the living specimens. Search well 

 about and under the seaweeds, and in the rock-pools, and, when 

 boating, throw your dredge-net out and tow it behind, hauling it 

 in occasionally to see what you have caught, and to empty the 

 stones and rubbish out. 



At low tide also, look out for rocks with a number of round 

 holes in them, all close together, for in these holes the Pholas 

 (Fig. 22) dwells, having bored a burrow in the solid rock, 

 though haiv he does it we do not yet quite know. 



The Razor-shells and Cockles live in the sand, their presence 



