DREDGING. 259 



fairly at the bottom ; then haul it on board 

 the boat : should any obstruction such as a 

 rock, etc., prevent its being brought home, place 

 the canoe under the rope and pull her along until 

 the place of obstruction is arrived at ; then bring 

 up the dredge, either straight or by taking it a little 

 way back, and let those in the boat haul dredge 

 and canoe towards them until clear of the ob- 

 stacle : the dredge is to be let down again, and 

 hauled in as before. When the dredge is brought 

 alongside the boat, lift it in, and take out all the 

 mud and sand ; half fill the sieve with this, and 

 pour a bucket of water gently on it, the party 

 holding the sieve to shake it gently until all the 

 mud and fine sand has passed through : take out 

 all the larger shells as soon as possible, to pre- 

 vent their breaking the more delicate ones, and 

 put them into your basket, and the smaller ones 

 into boxes. Should there be many small shells 

 in the sieve, which would take much time picking 

 out, it would be best to throw the sand from the 

 sieve into a basket, and take it home, where it 

 82 



