256 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



Orient. In China, Japan, and the Philippines, squid 

 and other larger devil-fish are highly prized for food ; 

 large quantities of devil-fish are preserved there by 

 drying and smoking. This strange mollusk does not 

 look like anything on the land or in the sea, and so 

 gets its name of devil-fish. When attacked, it dis- 

 charges an ink-like fluid, which muddies the water 

 so that its enemy cannot see it. 



Many other shell-fishes are found on our coasts, 

 the most important being cockle, periwinkle, whelk, 

 piddock, natica, donax, and chiton. Cockles are com- 

 monly eaten in Europe and are a popular shell-fish 

 in England and Ireland. They are found on the 

 Pacific coast from Coos Bay, Oregon, northward, but 

 are utilized only in a very limited way. Piddocks, peri- 

 winkles and whelks are also eaten in Europe but are 

 seldom used for any purpose in America. The pid- 

 dock possesses remarkable skill in boring a hole in a 

 rock for a home. He starts the hole by rubbing the 

 surface of the rock with a few grains of sand held in 

 his foot. When the hole is well started, he burrows 

 into the rock by constantly turning his rasp-like 

 shell in the cavity. A small mollusk called the donax 

 is taken on the California and Florida coasts. This 

 shell-fish is used in the preparation of soup which 

 is made by boiling the mollusks in a pot of water. 

 In certain districts this soup is preserved by canning. 



