HOW IT BUKROWS IN THE SAND. 



XXIII. 



FEW people who are in the habit of visiting the sea 

 shore but must have noticed the empty shells of 

 the animal about to be described. I allude to the 

 Solen, or Razor-Shell, commonly so called from its 

 resemblance to the handle attached to a barber's 

 scythe. 



This bivalve, improbable as the statement will 

 appear to the uninitiated, is one of the most efficient 

 burrowers to be met with on our shores. 



By means of 'its fleshy foot it digs a hole in 

 the mud or sand. Sometimes it retreats from 

 the surface to a distance of several feet, but 

 generally remains sufficiently near to allow its 

 short, fringed siphons to project above the 

 sand. 



In walking along the beach, left bare by the re- 

 ceding tide, the pedestrian may often perceive little 

 jets of water thrown up at his approach. These jets 

 proceed from the Razor-Fish in question. Although 

 we may be several yards from his burrow, his sense 



