48 THE CONCHOLOGICAL MAGAZINE 



habitant will spring up; and if you can block the hole and cut its 

 retreat at that moment, you may be able to catch it easily. This 

 gathering shell-fish at ebb tide is a well known sport. 



A few years ago, when I made a trip to Akashi, I one day 

 hired a small fishing-boat with a fisher-man, in order to enjoy fishing. 

 The flesh of the razor-shell was used as baits there abouts. The 

 fisher-man first engaged in catching these animals in a very interesting 

 way. Hardly had our boat sailed out 5 miles in the direction of 

 Kobe when the fisher-man proposed catching the shell-fish for bait. 



This proposal sounded very strange and it was almost incom- 

 prehensible to me who had thought it impossible at such a spot 

 about six or seven fathoms deep, though it was quite near the shore, 

 to catch creatures that were living in their slender holes in the bottom 

 of the sea. I said nothing in reply, but took the utmost care to see 

 how the fisher-man would catch the shell-fish. He took out a long 

 rope which had a bundle of iron spits about two feet long, just like 

 Japanese tongs, fastened at its end. Each spit had a sharp point 

 and a hook at its tip, and a little lead-ball tied a little below the top 

 for the weight. In a little while, he let the rope down into the sea. 

 Holding the rope in one hand, he continued pounding the bottom of 

 the sea with it about 1 5 minutes, while he was rowing with the other 

 hand. 



Poor creature ! When the rope was pulled up, we found a 

 number spitted through and through with the dreadful and merciless 

 spears ; several were pierced with the same spit. 



Unaware as I was of, who had invented this method, I was 

 greatly struck with the simple and expert plan. It is said that this 

 wonderful and somewhat cruel method used to bring up plenty of 

 those poor, innocent creatures at one try. I thought that this might 

 be one of the best ways to catch them for bait, but never the best to 

 get ones good to eat, because by this means we could not help 

 breaking both shells and flesh which would be spoiled by sand. 



Both methods, one with salt and the other with spits, the latter 

 of which is reported to prevail in western countries, must be the 

 products of experience after all. But isn't it very strange that the 

 same method of gathering shell-fish should happen to exist and 

 prevail both in the Orient and the Occident ? 



