Mediocrity in pebbles is insufferable. Do not assume that the wet portion of a beach necessarily yields the best chances. Many pebble-hunters never get over this early delusion. On a coast which is rarely trodden, the upper range contains the richest store. And in every case, the tide runs twice in the twenty-four hours over banks which now look dry and dusty, as well as over that narrow strip which you see glistening with saline moisture. And while you cannot fail to remark a pellucid stone or fossil which is sprinkled by the wave, if your attention is caught by anything lying high and dry, the latter is probably worth stooping for.
Walk rapidly over a poor, unproductive beach; but take your time and make good use of your eyes when you find you are in the land of plenty.
If you carry a hammer with you, let it be of the right sort; a well-tempered metal, not too large to stow away in a hind-pocket, and not armed with a spike. When you have such a one, it is tolerably safe to strike even a heavy blow on a large pebble in your other hand; but if you do the same by a small one, you may chance to maim your left palm for life: because in this case there is little reaction, and the blow you deal will drive the stone. But even with large pebbles, the preferable method is to plant one foot firmly on the stone, leaving a portion exposed to your aim. If your boots are of a sensible thickness, nothing will come to grief.
Never dash pebbles down upon others in order to break them open. In the first place, you risk a wound in your face from the rebound of a fragment in what mathematicians term the “angle of reflexion,” an angle which you have probably not calculated; but besides this, you may by such imprudence destroy a valuable specimen. You can open plenty of fossil flints and waterworn jaspers in the manner I have recommended above; which knocks off a corner, and shows you the true nature of the formations you are walking upon. I have learned a good deal in this way.
Lastly, when you are landed upon a superior beach, with the promise of a few hours of open weather, use the golden opportunity and do your best.
Solomon was quite right when he said, “Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” It is evident that if you do not in foro conscientiæ think such a hobby worth the while, you ought not to meddle with it. I quite agree that making shoes is more profitable, provided always that you have custom; although I have known more than one instance of working craftsmen who at intervals picked up some very good pebbles too.
The above rules may sound marvellously simple. I only wish that a few as simple were generally acted upon. We might then hope to see some noble collections of really instructive pebbles from our as yet little known sea-coast.