92 Beautiful Shells. 



THE MUSSEL AND THE COCKLE. 



It is in the Dimyaria division of the Conchifera 

 that we must look for those familiar "bivalves, the 

 Mussel, or, as it is sometimes spelled, Muscle, and 

 the Cockle ; the former, called in scientific language 

 Mytilus, which in Latin means simply a shell-fish ; 

 and the latter Cardium, which may have reference 

 to the hinge of this bivalve, or the heart-shape 

 assumed by several of the species ; cardo, in Latin, 

 signifying the hinge of a gate, and cardesco, a stone 

 in the shape of a heart. 



It is to the Mytilidce family that we shall first 

 direct our attention; and here we find the Com- 

 mon or Edible Mussel (M. edule) y and many other 

 species, in all of which the shell is more or less 

 elongated or lengthened out, and pointed at one 

 end. The members of this family are abundant 

 on most rocky coasts, where facilities are afforded 

 for the mollusks to moor themselves to rocks, 

 stones, and other substances covered at high- water, 

 but left dry by the retreating tide. They are not, 

 however, confined to shores of this description, but 

 are sometimes found in vast numbers on low sandy 

 or pebbly flats, which run far out into the sea ; these 

 are called beds of Mussels, and are, like the Oyster 



