Southcote Lodge.
_Mousehunt_ (Vol. viii., pp. 516. 606.; Vol. ix., pp. 65. 136. 385.).--In
Vol. ix., p. 65., the _Natural History of Quadrupeds_, by James H. Fennell,
is quoted; where, speaking of the Beech Marten (_alias_ Mousehunt), he
says:
"In Selkirkshire it has been observed to descend to _the shore_ at
night time to feed upon mollusks, particularly upon the large Basket
Mussel (_Mytilus modiolus_)."
In p. 136, I ventured to state that Mr. Fennell must have been a better
naturalist than geographer, as Selkirkshire was well known to be an inland
county nowhere approaching the sea by many miles. I added, that I hoped,
for Mr. Fennell's sake, that _Selkirkshire_ was either a misprint or a
misquotation.
In p. 385. MR. ARCHIBALD FRASER, Woodford, not choosing to exonerate Mr.
Fennell by either of my suggestions, prefers, as a staunch, but I think
rather an inconsiderate friend and champion, to _vindicate_ the paragraph
as it stands, by candidly admitting that if the word _beach_ had been used,
it would certainly have referred to the sea; but that the word _shore_
applies to rivers as well as seas. And he goes back as far as Spenser to
find an instance of its use, as applied to the banks of the river Nile.
I will not agree that this use is nearly obsolete, but give him the full
value of his quotation from Spenser. But what does he say to the _habitat_
of the _Mytilus modiolus_, which the Mousehunt goes {478} to the _shore_ to
feed upon. I quote from _Rees' Cyclopaedia_, voce "MYTILUS:"
"MODIOLUS. Shell smooth and blackish, obtuse at the smaller end, and
rounded at the other; one side near the beaks is angular. Two varieties
are noticed by Lister. It _inhabits_ the European, American, and Indian
_seas_, adhering to fuci and zoophytes; is six or seven inches long,
and about half as broad: the fish is red or orange, and eatable."