MARSHAI.I- : ADDITIUNS TO "BRITISH CONCHOLOGY. 203 



rush of waters gradually cuts off rock after rock with surprising sudden- 

 ness, the tide taking seven hours to recede and only five to return to 

 its high-water mark, which sometimes exceeds forty feet. This 

 dangerous coast frequently claims its victims from among seaweed 

 cutters, conger hunters, and ormer gatherers. 



To the islanders of Herm, where M. glaiica is rare, it has always 

 been known as the " five-shilling shell," as that was the price originally 

 given for it by old collectors when first discovered. 



At one time M. glaiica was sold by the dealers at the then fair price 

 of 7/6, but a Jersey naturalist having offered an expert discoverer 6d. 

 each for as many as he could obtain, to be again retailed at i/-, he 

 got so inundated with specimens that he had to stop the supply, after 

 "glutting the market." 



The animal makes a substantial and appetising ban boiicke, but the 

 supply for culinary purposes is non-existent. I only once bought a 

 specimen in the Jersey fish market, which was offered for sale as a 

 "clam." The smaller Madras are occasionally eaten. At Teign- 

 mouth on one occasion I noticed outside a gipsy encampment a heap 

 of the shells of M. solida, which had evidently been cooked and the 

 contents eaten. 



Scrobicularia alba var. oblonga Marsh.— Garelochhead i6-2 2f. 

 (Knight) ! The specimens from this locality are very thin and glossy, 

 and come wonderfully close to 6". nitida. In some dredgings by the 

 'Porcupine' in Vigo Bay, 2of., this was found to be the normal form. 



S. piperata Gmel. — Mr. Tomlin finds this species commonly used 

 as food by the peasantry at Torcello and Burano, two outlying islands 

 in the Venetian lagoon. 



S. longicallus Scacc. — Between the Shetlands and Norway igyf. 

 and 2oof. (Simpson) ! Also on the Atlantic slope of the English 

 Channel, about 150 miles off the Scillies, in yiyf. ('Porcupine.') 



Solecurtus SCopula Turt.— Off Peterhead, a perfect specimen 

 and several valves (Dawson) ; several dead specimens from the Aber- 

 deen Bank on trawl boats (Simpson) ; Gairloch, valves on the shore 

 after storms. 



Ceratisolen legumen L. — Herm, a fine but dead specimen on 

 the beach (Marquand). 



Solen ensis L. — Sowerby's figure represents S. siliqua\a.r. arcuata 

 and not this. 



Pandora inaequivalvis L.— Studland Bay, plentiful after gales. 

 Recorded from the Antrim coast by Dr. Chaster, but doubtless a 

 mistake for the var. pinna. 



Thracia praetenuis Pult. — Gairloch, frequently cast ashore by 

 storms. 



