78 
ANIMAL LIFE ON THE 
continuous cords, somewhat in the fashion of the opening 
and closing cords of a Venetian blind. 
The scallop is a splendid swimmer. When wishing to 
rise from the bottom, he opens wide the valves, the upper 
one alone moving, which is accomplished by the expansion 
and contraction of the great muscle ; the valve is then 
brought down with great force, which has the effect of 
raising him to a considerable height, then rapidly opening 
and closing the valves the water rushes in, and is as quickly 
beaten out, which, with the hinge portion of the shells in 
front, sends him on with an amazingly speedy propulsion 
along his erratic course. Sometimes they move in large 
bodies in this fashion. A fisherman of my acquaintance 
on one occasion had his nets shot off Dunoon shore, near 
the surface, in about twenty fathoms of water, when, to his 
dismay, instead of an eye of herrings striking his nets, he 
found it to be a shoal of clams, which spoiled his night's 
work, and took him and his mate most of the following day 
to rid them from the meshes. The scallop is amongst 
the finest of our edible molluscs, being little inferior to the 
oyster. About twenty years or so ago it was to be found 
in plenty on both shores of the Firth of Clyde from Gourock 
to Pladda. The ground between the Cumbraes used to be 
a favourite resort. They were also plentiful in Largs Bay, 
and on the banks near the Gantock Rocks off Dunoon ; and 
many times the writer has seen his father's nets bring in 
large quantities not a quarter of a mile from Rothesay 
Quay. Now, however, few of the lovely creatures are to be 
found in all these stretches, the cause of which is surely a 
subject worthy of our investigation. Who should know 
the cause better than fishermen themselves, we should 
think ? and here on Brodick shore is one at hand to begin 
with. Showing our little specimen for an introduction, our 
