222 MOLLUSCA. 



place is known by a small hole in the sand. As it is rather 

 a laborious operation to dig them out, Bosc informs us, that 

 the fishermen of France throw a small pinch of salt into 

 their holes, which always remain open by the action of the 

 respiratory organs ; that they speedily rise to the surface, 

 and are thrown out by an iron instrument made for the pur- 

 pose. The fishermen believe that it is the salt which they 

 wish to avoid ; but it is conjectured, with greater probabi- 

 lity, that the presence of the salt water, which is thus formed 

 by the solution of the salt, makes the animal suppose that 

 its hole is again covered with the tide. This shell-fish was 

 esteemed by the ancients as a great delicacy. When boiled 

 or fried, it is certainly a very palatable morsel. When kept 

 for a few days, it forms an excellent bait for haddock or cod, 

 and may even be employed for that purpose in a fresh state. 

 Several species of Gapers (Myce) are used as food both 

 in Britain and on the Continent, as the Mya arenaria, 

 known to the fishermen about Southampton by the whimsi- 

 cal name Old Maids. These shells reside in the mud or 

 shingle on the shore, and a few inches below the surface. 

 In some parts of England and Ireland, they are much used, 

 but, though common in Scotland, they are never sought after. 

 Another species, the Mya truncata, is also very common on the 

 coast. It prefers a hard gravelly bottom, in which it lodges 

 near low water mark. The inhabitants of the northern islan ds 

 call it Smurslm, and employ it, when boiled, as a supper dish. 

 It is not so delicate as some of the shell-fish which we have no- 

 ticed, but it is by no means unpalatable. The Mya declivis 

 of Pennant is, according to that author, very plentiful in the 

 Hebrides, and eaten by the gentry of that country. We 

 suspect that he should have referred to the Mya truncata. 

 These shells furnish very good baits to the fisherman. 



