96 
ANIMAL LIFE ON THE 
Gourock railway wharf by the dredging machine bucket >s 
from a depth of 12 or 14 feet. But now to our specimen- 
hunting. Crossing the sands, and leaning well down the 
south jaw of the bay, we come upon the clean red sandstone 
of the district cropping up here and there in beds and 
layers. Following on nearer the lowest ebb reach we cross 
occasional beds of pure sand, from which is issued now and 
again the spout of a sand burrower. On one of these beds 
our attention is directed to a brown-tipped, chrome-tinted 
stalk, elegant in appearance, protruding from the sand 
between two and three inches. This is the syphon of some 
creature, and laying hold of it, an attempt is made to extract 
it from the sand, but without avail. The excavator is 
instantly applied, but to the astonishment of the operator 
he comes upon the hard rock at a depth of three or four 
inches. This was not expected, but after clearing away the 
sand, the rock is found to be perforated by a hole about an 
inch in diameter. Pushing the finger down into the hole 
