MACTRID^. TROUGH-SHELL. 153 



not considered very good, and are full of sand ; though 

 the former is eaten in Devonshire ; and Mr. Dennis (as 

 quoted by Mr. Jeffreys, in his ' British Conchology ') 

 says that the people of Newhaven, near Brighton, eat 

 the Mactra stultorum also. It appears that in 1861, the 

 steam dredging-machines were at work at the mouth of 

 the harbour, and that they turned up Mactra stultorum 

 in great numbers, so that the beach at high-water mark 

 was covered by them.* They live buried in the sand not 

 very far from low-water mark, and at no great depth 

 from the surface. In Holland the shells of Mactra stul- 

 torum are used for making roads and footpaths ; they 

 are also burnt for lime, and the fish is eaten there. Ac- 

 cording to Poll, it is known in Italy by the name of 

 mezzana, and at Naples, gongola. In German, Mac- 

 trx are called trogmuscheln. Our rare Mactra glauca, 

 or helvacea, which is a much larger shell than either of 

 the other kinds above-mentioned, and is at least three 

 inches long by four broad, with longitudinal rays of a 

 pale fawn, or a drab, colour, resembling slightly Mactra 

 stultorum, is sold in the market at Brest ; and at Gran- 

 ville is known by the name of schias. It is also foimd 

 at Naples, and Poll speaks with evident satisfaction of 

 its sweet and excellent flavour. It is taken in the 

 Channel Islands, but we seldom find more than single 

 valves upon our coast. Mr. King, of 190, Portland 

 Road, sent me a magnificent specimen alive, some time 

 since, which enabled me to examine the fish, and admire 

 the beautiful colouring of its two short thick tubes, of a 

 pale-yellow, shading to a rich orange ; round the orifices 

 were dark streaks of crimson, the cirri of the same 

 colour as the tubes. The animal, however, varies in 



* ' British Conchology,' vol. ii. p. 424. 



