THE STORY OF THE PECTEN. 



69 



Some of my relatives have shells that are 

 fully six inches across, while others are tiny 

 little things not larger than a dime. But our 

 oddest relative is the rock-oyster, or winter-shell, 

 as some people call him. 

 Figure 20 shows you how 

 he looks, and he may be 

 found all along the coast 

 of California. 



When his children are 

 young, they look like lit- 

 tle yellow-shelled pectens, 

 and they swim about and 

 moor themselves as we do. 

 But after a while they grow 

 weary of a wandering life, 

 and then they settle down 

 in an old abalone-shell or 

 a hollow place in some 

 rock, and cement one of their shells firmly to the 

 new support. 



As time goes by, they enlarge their shells on 

 whatever side there is the most room, and so when 

 they get to be old, some are long and narrow, some 

 round and flat, while others are cramped or half 

 doubled up. 



And as soon as they settle down they close up 



Figure '26. 



