40 THE SEA-SHORE 



You will find that you cannot do it, for the cockle 

 can dig a good deal faster than you can. The 

 fact is that he has a very strong, fleshy organ 

 which we call the "foot," and with this he can 

 burrow down into the sandy mud so quickly 

 that by the time you have dug to a depth of six 

 inches, he will have gone down to the depth 

 of ten or twelve. 



The cockle uses this " foot " for another purpose 

 as well, for he can jump with it. And if you did 

 succeed in digging him out of the ground, you 

 would very likely see him skipping about in the 

 most active way, almost like a sand-hopper ! 



Upon some parts of the coast another kind of 

 cockle is found, which has its " foot " of a bright 

 red colour. For this reason it is generally known 

 as the "red-nosed cockle." 



PLATE XIV 



THE MUSSEL (i and 2) 



Mussels are almost, if not quite, as plentiful as 

 cockles. If you walk down underneath a pier or a 

 jetty when the tide is out, you will often find that 

 the pillars which support it are covered with great 

 clusters of these creatures; and very often the 

 rocks which are left dry at low-water are covered 

 with them in just the same way. They fasten 



