THE WONDERS OF THE SHORE. 149 



and a couple of buckets, to receive the large lumps 

 of oysters and serpulse which you will probably bring 

 to the surface. 



As for a dredging ground, one may be found, I sup- 

 pose, off every watering-place. The most fertile spots 

 are in rough ground, in not less than five fathoms 

 water. The deeper the water, the rarer and more 

 interesting will the animals generally be : but a 

 greater depth than fifteen fathoms is not easily 

 reached on this side of Plymouth ; and, on the 

 whole, the begmner will find enough in seven or 

 eight fathoms to stock, in one day, an aquarium 

 rivalling any of those in the " Tank-house " at the 

 Zoological Gardens. 



In general, the south coast of England, to the 

 eastward of Portland, affords bad dredging-ground. 

 The friable cliffs, of comparatively recent formations, 

 keep the sea shallow, and the bottom smooth 

 and bare, by the vast deposits of sand and gravel. 

 Yet round the Isle of Wight, especially at the 

 back of the Needles, there ought to be fertile spots ; 

 and Weymouth, according to Mr. Gosse and other 



