VOL. 11.] Edible Mollusks. | 139 
respect, to Mya arenaria, for any kind of clam pies, chowder or 
soup. Burrowing in sand at extremely low tide. 
HALIOTIS RUFESCENS Swains.—Mendocino County to Lower 
California. Among rocks at extreme low tide. 
HALIOTIS CORRUGATA Gray.—Santa Catalina Island to Lower 
California. Among rocks at extreme low tide. Somewhat rare. 
HALIOTIS SPLENDENS Rve.—Santa Barbara Islands to Lower 
California. Among rocks at low tide. 
HALIoTIs CRACHERODII Leach.— Monterey to Lower Califor- 
nia. Among rocks between tides. ; 
All four of these abalones are edible, and their fine flavor has 
long been known to the sailors, fishermen and ranchers along the 
coast of California, notwithstanding a recent writer in Forest and 
Stream asserts—on the authority of, perhaps, some San Francisco 
market huckster—that: “Americans do not understand the art of 
preparing them, while the Mexicans make of them a dish that is 
admirable.” 
My experience among American sailors and ranchers, while col- 
lecting shells along the coast of California, satisfies me that they are 
experts in preparing fresh abalone chowder and fries. 
The Haliotis, or Abalone, as it is commonly called, is largely 
collected on the southern coast of California and along the coast of 
Lower California. The animal is dried and sent to China for food, 
while tons of the shells are yearly sent East and to Europe, where 
they are manufactured into ornamental and useful articles. 
Octopus punctatus Gabb.— Almost everywhere along the 
coast of California this mollusk is collected and dried for food 
by the Chinese. I am informed the Italian fishermen eat the arms, 
or tentacles. The flesh is white and delicate looking, but I am 
satisfied to allow the Chinese and Italians to eat all of them. 
There is a report that one of the land shells, He/ix arrosa, 
has been offered for sale in the San Francisco markets. 
I have also been informed that Ariolimax Columbianus Gould, 
the large slug which is such a pest about San Francisco, has been 
eaten by various persons, after removing the slimy outer covering. 
The gardeners would probably be pleased if such a taste were more 
widely spread. 
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