Bivalve

“ Considering the bivalve shell as a whole, it will be necessary, in the first instance, to describe the position in which it is to be observed, in order to give the student a clearly defined notion of what is intended, when terms expressive of height, depth, length, breadth, &c. are used, as well as when the anterior and posterior extremities are spoken of. For this purpose, we must suppose the animal to be living and creeping along the bed of the sea by means of its foot; where this foot protrudes, will be the ventral margin, and the opposite part the dorsal margin of the shell. ”

“ There; we must come away now, for the tide is over our ankles; but touch, before you go, one of those little red mouths which peep out of the stone. A tiny jet of water shoots up almost into your face. The bivalve [139a] who has burrowed into the limestone knot (the softest part of the stone to his jaws, though the hardest to your chisel) is scandalized at having the soft mouths of his siphons so rudely touched, and taking your finger for some bothering Annelid, who wants to nibble him, is defending himself; shooting you, as naturalists do humming-birds, with water. ”

“ Authorities consider the bivalve shell too delicate and frail to be employed in the capacity of a drill, and one investigator has come to the conclusion that the rough fleshy parts of the animal, probably the foot or mantle, acting as a rasp, forms the true boring instrument. ”

“ In bivalves such as the oysters, horse mussels, piddocks, and others that are sedentary, and often fixed in place, or that, like river mussels, scallops, etc., move about freely, the mouth tubes are short; but many bivalves, as the clams, pinnas, razor fish and so forth, bury themselves in the sand of the bottom, by means of the strong distensible foot protruding from the forward end of the shell. ”

“ In a third phase of development the bivalve shell is formed, the foot appears on the outside, the vibratile cilia form a sort of crown, and the embryo thus possesses the faculty of locomotion as well by creeping as by swimming. ”

“ These can only be obtained on the northern ocean beach, and not the least enjoyable part of a day's sport consists in getting them. They are triangular in shape, with smooth shells of every imaginable colour, though a rich purple is commonest. As the back wash leaves the sands bare these bivalves may be seen in thick but irregular patches protruding from the sand. Some [pg 121] times, if the tide is not low enough, one may get rolled over by the surf if he happen to have his back turned seaward. ”

“ They are so abundant on the French side of the Channel and on the shores of the Mediterranean, that they form a considerable portion of the people's food. These bivalves have the singular power of leaping to a considerable height and then throwing themselves to a distance of ten or twelve inches—a spectacle which may be witnessed any day at low water. When abandoned by the retreating tide, they try to regain the sea. ”

“ Bivalves
The order of the bivalves is a very large and important one. All these creatures have their shells made of two parts, or valves, which are fastened together by means of a hinge. They have no heads, and the mantle forms a kind of flap on either side of the body. They are found both in fresh and salt water. Every one knows the "fresh-water clams," or mussels, which abound in our lakes and rivers. In the central and southern parts of the United States they are exceedingly numerous and of many kinds, some rough, others smooth. ”

“ Instead of oysters I will indulge in a few opinions as to the intellectual qualities of bivalves generally, finishing up with a glowing tribute to the man who is content to be a clam and not talk too much. ”

“ Bivalves do not creep about in search of food, but find their means of existence in the shape of minute particles, both animal and vegetable, which happen to be contained in the water which they breathe. ”

“ TAHITIAN ANGLING. that the ends of the pole are capable of being lowered or elevated by a rope, which proceeds from the fork. A man sits in the high stern, holding this rope in his hand, and watching the capture of the fishes. From the end of each projecting arm depends the line, with the pearl-hook fashioned to resemble the Flying-fish. To increase the deception, bunches of feathers are fastened to the tips of the arms, to represent those aquatic birds which habitually follow the Flying-fish in its course, to seize it in the air. ”

“ But you will find that it has still others to entirely another world. As you watch it glance and skim over the surface of the waters, has it never struck you what relation it bears to the creatures that glance and glide under their surface? Fly-catchers, some of them, also,—fly-catchers in the same manner, with wide mouth; while in motion the bird almost exactly combines the dart of the trout with the dash of the dolphin, to the rounded forehead and projecting muzzle of which its own bullet head and bill exactly correspond. ”

“ Each man has two lines, and each stands in one end of the boat, the middle of which is boarded off, to hold the fish. The baited lines have been dropped into the water, one on each side of the boat; their leads have reached the bottom, a fish has taken the hook, and after giving the line a slight jerk, the fisherman hauls up his prize with a continued pull, throws the fish athwart a small round bar of iron placed near his back, which forces open the mouth, while the weight of the body, however small the fish may be, tears out the hook. ”

“ The tackle, you observe, is carefully coiled on the sand at the fisher’s feet. Now on each hook he fixes a cray-fish, piercing the shell beneath the tail, and forcing the keen weapon to reach the very head of 198 the suffering creature, while all its legs are left at liberty to move. Now, each man, holding his line a yard or so from the hooks, whirls it several times overhead, and sends it off to its full length directly across the stream. ”

“ This Izaak Walton of birddom, whom you may see perched as erect as a fish hawk on a snag in the lake, creek or river, or on a dead limb projecting over the water, on the lookout for minnows, chub, red fins, samlets or any other small fry that swims past, is as expert as any fisherman you are ever likely to know. Sharp eyes are necessary to see a little fish where sunbeams dance on the ripples and the refracted light plays queer tricks with one's vision. ”

“ These birds145 have indeed reached the climax of a seafaring life, with their powerful wings, their sharp and often hooked beaks, and their short legs. They, too, feed upon the water, coming up with a fish in their mouth, but they do not dive under and swim like the guillemots. On the contrary, flying is their forte; they swoop down, and scarcely have they gone a few feet under water than they are up again, skimming on the waves as they swallow their prey, which may be anything from dead floating creatures to living fish which have ventured too near the surface. ”

“ To an angler the pleasures of the rod and reel are far-reaching and have no boundary save when the mind ceases to anticipate and the brain to remember. I have had the grandest sport on a midwinter’s night with the snow piled high outside and the north wind roaring down the chimney, while I sat with my feet to the blaze on the hearth, holding in my hand an old fly-book. The smoke from my lighted pipe, aided by imagination, contained rod, fish, creel, odorous balsam, drooping hemlock and purling brook or ruffled lake. ”

“ On a large lake are thousands of small boats and rafts built entirely for this species [Pg 203] of fishery. On each boat or raft are ten or a dozen birds, which, on a signal from the owner, plunge into the water; and it is astonishing to see the enormous size of fish with which they return grasped between their bills. They appeared to be so well trained that it did not require either ring or cord about their throats to prevent them from swallowing any portion of their prey except what the master was pleased to return to them for encouragement and food. ”

“ Flight of Fishes.—Some fishes called the flying-fishes sail through the air with a grasshopper-like motion that closely imitates true flight. The long pectoral fins, wing-like in form, cannot, however, be flapped by the fish, the muscles serving only to expand or fold them. These fishes live in the open sea or open channel, swimming in large schools. The small species fly for a few feet only, the large ones for more than an eighth of a mile. ”

“ In my fishing excursions, I always take with me a stiff little pocket-rod, of four pieces, each about two feet and a half in length, with a small reel attached, and about twenty yards of strong silk line, so that I may [21] have a fair chance of successful sport, when I happen to be fishing on a stream where trees and bushes prevent my throwing the artificial fly, and where the large trout take refuge for the purpose of concealment, and the generally better supply of flies, insects, and other food. ”

“ Legions of water-fowl inhabited the reeds, and troops of cranes rose at the approach of the flotilla. Sometimes we saw great, big pelican kind of birds, almost as big as a man, standing contemplative on a single leg, and often on the tree-tops a fish-eagle, glorious in bronze and cream, sat sunning himself and watching for a prey. ”

“ And all around, over the great, wide sea, these showers of living gems are leaping in and out of it. It is a most beautiful sight. The body of the fish is of a light, gleaming blue, and the delicate film-like wings, springing from just behind the gills, and extending backwards almost to the tail, set it, as they rapidly quiver, in a soft and silvery haze.
It is, of course, the pectoral fins that thus perform the office of wings, and by moving them and steering a course, their owner flies as truly, for the time, as does either a bird or a bat. ”

“ Every detail of the fishing kit of the freshwater angler is described, from rodtip to creel, and clothing. Special emphasis is laid on outfitting for fly fishing, but full instruction is also given to the man who wants to catch pickerel, pike, muskellunge, lake-trout, bass and other freshwater game fishes. ”

“ The commonly accepted definition of fly-fishing is the casting—with a light, strong, elastic, pliant rod—of two, three or four artificial flies, on a delicate leader attached to a fine tapered silk line over the surface of waters inhabited by the lordly, silver-coated salmon; that aristocratic beauty, the speckled trout, or the more sombre-colored but gamy black bass. ”

“ A quick eye, a ready and delicate hand, an apprehensive brain, delicacy in the senses of touch and hearing, activity of limb, physical endurance, persevering control over impatience, vigilant watchfulness, are qualifications necessary to form the fly-fisher. His amusing and chanceful struggles, teeming with varying excitement, are with the strongest, the most active, the most courageous, the most beautiful, and the most valuable of river fish ”

“ Here the bottom-fisher delights to station himself, quietly and patiently pursuing his sport until his pannier is full, or his leisure exhausted. And in such peaceful streams the more presumptuous troller spins his minnow, and calls his strength of limb and agility into exercise, as he drags from his hole the ferocious Pike. ”

“ Very sure I am that the sportsman who once fairly starts as a fly-fisher, and is so fortunate as to hook a Salmon or a large Trout, will thenceforward despise or lightly esteem corks and floats, ground-bait and trimmers, punts and Perch fishing, and will fairly wish them all exchanged for a nice stream well stocked with Trout—as a gentleman lately said to me, fly- fishing is a perfect infatuation! ”

“ Their method of fishing was amusing enough, a whole flock of birds would follow the fish who swam fast along: they continualy plungd themselves under water and soon after rose again in another place, so that the whole flock vanishd sometimes, at others a large part of it and rose again often where you did not expect them, and in less than a minutes time they were down again and so alternately as long as we saw them. ”

“ Sacrifice everything to lightness in casting; let the line go straight without a kink if you can, drop the fly into the right ripple if possible, but it must drop gently on the surface of the water. An ugly splash of a clear day in pure water, and the prey will dart in every direction, and the angler’s hopes scatter with them. ”

“ Ten, twenty, and in half a second hundreds of immense fish come trooping up, and, undeterred by our presence, approach as near as they dare to the surface of the water where he stands; they swim backwards and forwards, and lash the water with their tails. ”

“ And during the ages that have passed since this bony race began, different branches each in their own way have thrown out curious weapons and developed strange organs to help them in the battle of life, so that now we have deep-sea fish carrying their own light; fish with distensible stomachs swallowing prey larger than themselves; fish with large air-bladders and long arm-fins springing out of their own element and floating in air; angling-fish, walking-fish, clinging-fish, and hiding-fish; and even those whose shape is distorted, like the sole, to enable them to hide and hunt in safety ”

“ And here I will give some cautions and directions, as for the natural fly, and so pass on to baits for angling at the ground.
1. When you angle with the artificial fly, you must either fish in a river not fully cleared from some rain lately fallen, that had discoloured it; or in a moorish river, discoloured by moss or bogs; or else in a dark cloudy day, when a gentle gale of wind moves the water; but if the wind be high, yet so as you may guide your tools with advantage, they will rise in the plain deeps, and then and there you will commonly kill the best fish ”