n6 WILD LIFE OF SCOTLAND 



ebb and flow, say in the twilight, or the later 

 moonlight, when the ribbed seashore lies in long 

 lines of light and shadow, short strands of living 

 elastic are observed to strike first one end and then 

 the other on the sand. And every here and there 

 a thicker strand, equally lively, and about a foot 

 long, appears among them. Those are the lesser 

 and greater sand-eels, which have their use on the 

 hook, but will probably find their way into the 

 frying-pan. 



After the lob, the more valued baits are found 

 among the molluscs, chiefly the bivalves. 



Encrusting the rocks at low-water level, to the 

 depth often of half an inch, are multitudinous small 

 mussels, so overcrowded, so chafed and knocked 

 about by the surge, that they seldom come to any- 

 thing. On the rough east coast, mussels grow to a 

 marketable size only in the less exposed estuaries. 



In these comparatively quiet stretches, the larvae 

 settle to the bottom as spat. This they often do 

 on some high bank, covered only for half the tide. 

 Exposed, for many hours every day, to sunshine or 

 frost, and to an enforced abstinence from food, they 

 may take six, or seven years to come to maturity. 

 As a result of their slow growth, they secrete thick 

 shells, and have a general dumpy appearance. 



