240 The Naturalist of Cum brae. 



deeper into the soil than the one in common use, I 

 had one constructed of galvanized iron, which pene- 

 trated five or six inches into the subsoil, and reached 

 the class of animals found burrowing beneath the 

 surface, at the same time securing much in common 

 with the flat-rimmed dredge. As an auxiliary to the 

 common dredge, this form of construction is particu- 

 larly useful in mud and sand, being compact with 

 solid sides, holding no more than can be conveniently 

 examined in a small boat, besides being clean and 

 expeditious to work with. It sinks and takes the 

 ground readily, and soon fills, its small size offers little 

 resistance to the currents, and is easily pulled up. 

 In favourable weather it can be wrought in ten or 

 twelve fathoms by one man with ease, and in thirty 

 or forty by two men without difficulty. It has been 

 objected to on the ground that it dips suddenly into 

 the soil and is filled at once, without raking over a 

 sufficient portion of the sea-bottom, thus lessening 

 the chance of a good haul. This, so far, is true 

 when surface animals are only taken into account ; 

 but the special province of this dredge is not the 

 surface, but beneath it, which will be found by no 

 means thinly tenanted. No one who has examined 

 mud, sand, or gravel, dug from near low water, can 

 have failed to find them abounding with multitudes 

 of living creatures, and we may infer that the same 

 holds good in deeper water. The result of experience 

 with this dredge is to prove that the subsoil round 

 our shores is the habitat, ambush, or retreat of 

 myriads of the invertebrate fauna summer and winter. 

 The subsoil qualities of this dredge, instead of being 



