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: itis 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, 
B C, is forged into a plate, six inches in breadth with a sharp 
OF THE DREDGE. 107 
