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however, you apply your spoon, put it in a little more 

 gently, and scrape off the top of the mud only, or run 

 it through the plants in the middle of the stream, or 

 amongst the grass on the margin, and you will obtain 

 that for which you are searching, without all the labour 

 you are now giving yourself. " Having followed out 

 our instructions, after a deal of labour by our unskilful 

 hands, we soon perceive some light coloured objects, 

 which, upon close inspection, turn out to be shells. 

 " Oh ! what lovely little things, " we all exclaim in a 

 breath, " see, they are double shells ! " 



Being now fairly in quest of these inhabitants of the 

 stream, we quickly fill some of our boxes with the 

 bivalves, and with one or two kinds of univalves. The 

 first excitement is after a while somewhat over, and we 

 sit down upon some grassy knoll to look over our spoils. 

 Cousin William is applied to for information respecting 

 them ; he explains to his young companions that the 

 bivalves first found belong to the order Conchifera ; 

 that they are called Cyclas Cornea ; that there are three 

 species included under the head Cyclas, and a variety 

 of other information respecting them. He next shews 

 them some of the other smaller bivalves, allied to the 

 Cyclas, but under another family, named Pisidium 

 the one they have found being Pisidium amnicum. 

 " Whatever is this ! " exclaims a youthful member of 

 our party, " see what a slimy looking animal protrudes 

 himself from the large opening !" This turns out to be 

 Limnceus pereger, the most widely distributed of our 

 water shells, and though by no means the most attrac- 

 tive-looking object, it improves on acquaintance. " You 

 have overlooked this pretty little shining fellow, " re- 

 marks their interesting instructor, " it is the ' bubble 



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