THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 37 



land and Scotland, and is esteemed as a luxury by the poorer 

 classes of London. To show the importance of this Mollusc 

 in Great Britain, it may be said that a sandy flat inWhitstable 

 Bay was estimated in 1866 to yield .£12,000 worth of Whelks 

 annually, a part of the product being sold in London markets 

 for food and the remainder sent to the cod-fishing banks for 

 bait. The Great Grimsby fishery is valued annually at £22,- 

 500. For food, they are best in August and September, but 

 are in season all the year round. It is said they should be 

 used the day after being captured, but if boiled they will 

 keep several days. Many vessels are engaged in their capture. 



In the United States it does not appear to be eaten, and is 

 used to only a limited extent, if at all, for bait. Dr. Kobert 

 Bell tells us, however, that it has been used for bait along the 

 lower St. Lawrence. 



In Acadia it does not appear to be known at all as food. 

 Mr. Willis says that though abundant in Nova Scotia, it was 

 rarely used as food.* He tells us further that, — ''It is said 

 to be quite as nutritious and delicate, by those who have used 

 it, as the species which is found on the British coast." It is 

 never exposed for sale in our markets, and is unknown even 

 by name to dealers in St. John. We do not find that it is 

 used by our fishermen to any extent as bait. 



In Europe, the fishermen call the eggs "sea-wash balls," 

 and as they form a lather with salt water, use them, when 

 found, instead of soap for washing their hands. The shells are 

 sometimes used as a decoration for the borders of flower beds 

 and for other similar purposes in places near the sea. It is 

 asserted in the " Natural History of Useful Aquatic Animals," 

 (p. 699), that this species has been the subject of successful 

 experiments for the obtaining of dyes, though we are not 

 given any particulars. 



Is it not a remarkable fact that a fishery of so great value 

 in Europe should be entirely neglected here? There can be 

 no doubt, however, that in the course of time the Whelks 

 will come to be extensivelv used in Acadia. This will come 



*RecipcS for cooking B. undatnm may be found in Tryon's Manual of Con- 

 ■chology, Vol. III., pp. 179, 180. 



