The Scallops 349 



frequently found. The most dangerous enemy is per- 

 haps the starfish, which is quite numerous at times on 

 some scallop beds. 



What might reasonably be hoped for in scallop culture 

 is still difficult to state. Great numbers have been kept, 

 the year through, confined in pens, and have grown rap- 

 idly; but when free, their wanderings apparently are not 

 extensive, so that it might not be necessary to plant them 

 in inclosures. Like oysters and clams, they require a 

 good circulation of water. It is an encouraging fact 

 that young scallops for planting are extremely abundant 

 in certain spots, where circumstances favor their collec- 

 tion. If these were removed and deposited on other bot- 

 toms, where they might be less exposed to ice or waves, 

 it might sometimes prove to be profitable to the planter; 

 but usually there would be little advantage in this, and 

 at the present time it does not appear that any method 

 of artificial culture other than the replanting of ex- 

 hausted areas would be worth the labor involved in it. 



It has been said that one of the characteristics of the 

 American poor is that they must have the best and most 

 expensive of everything, and that more good food is 

 wasted in the United States than in any other country on 

 the globe. Certainly there are many edible marine mol- 

 lusks, some of them occurring in great abundance on our 

 shores, that are not found in our markets. In Europe, 

 small gasteropods are cooked and marketed on the streets 

 in paper bags as popcorn or roasted peanuts are here. 

 The common black mussel (Mytilus edulis) is reared 

 artificially all along the European coast. It grows rap- 

 idly, and immense quantities are consumed. It occurs 



