OF TIIK DRUDGE. 



107 



OF THE DREDGE. 



There is no instrument like the dredge, in point of general 

 utility. It is much used for fishing oysters. It acts upon the 

 bottom of the sea almost like the rake, which we have above 

 described : it is only a rake of a different form, better fitted for 

 attaining its end. No naturalist, who lives on the sea-coast, 

 should be without a dredge ; and to those travelling in foreign 

 countries, in search of natural objects, it will be found of the 

 utmost utility. The following is a representation of that in- 

 strument. 



To have a clear idea of the dredge, and the parts which 

 compose it, we must imagine a circular bar of iron, forged in 

 the shape of an almost equilateral triangle, A, B, C, of the 

 above figure, whose two extremities are joined at A. To form 

 the summit or point of the triangle, each of the sides should be 

 above five feet. The two branches. A B, and A C, are rounded 

 and bent, as they approach the base of the triangle. The base, 

 JB C, is forged into a plate, six inches in breadth with a sharp 



