SHORES OF THE CLYDE AND FIRTH. 
71 
rusticmi, or spiny cockle, which was taken up with a 
fisherman's long line fifteen miles east of the Bell Rock, 
exactly thirty miles from the nearest Scottish coast out in 
the bed of the German Ocean. It is quite possible, 
however, that the bank ihtre may be a favourite resort of 
this species; but in this particular case the specimen must 
have been travelling on the surface of the ground, for it 
actually had the bait and hook firmly closed up within 
its valves, and in this condition was brought on board, and 
was afterwards taken from that position at my own request. 
The cockle in its season is a he dthy shellfish, and when 
properly prepared makes a savour j- dish of food. Thousands 
of bushels annually find their way into the markets of our 
large centres of population, the gathering in of which is a 
trade that might be greatly developed. Very few sandy 
bays and nooks on the Firth of Clyde but had at one time 
this shellfish in abundance, and are yet capable of breeding 
millions of them annually ; but a constant scraping and 
raking of the sands during the spawning season has stinted 
the breed, and year by year is making the cockle a very 
scarce commodity indeed upon our shores. 
From twelve to eighteen months the cockle takes to 
come to maturity ; and if the savoury morsel is to be 
preserved upon the shores and bays of our Firth, it will only ^ 
be through the enforcement of a closed time, which certainly 
should be the case. 
