SOLENID^. RAZOR-SHELL. 39 



Cockle Soup. — After the cockles have been well washed, 

 place them in a stewpan over a slow fire till they open, 

 and then take them out of their shells. Put an ounce 

 of butter or lard, some finely-chopped parsley, a sliced 

 onion, a little pepper, and a teaspoonfui of anchovy, 

 into a saucepan, with a little flour, and fry till it be- 

 comes brown. To this add a pint of water, or a pint 

 and a half of milk, and, when it boils, place in your 

 cockles. Let it boil again for half an hour, then serve. 

 The cockles, being large, will require to be cut in halves 

 or quarters, previous to their being put into the soup ; 

 and the quantity required would be about 2 lb. weight. 



In the Bay of Naples, where these cockles abound, 

 they are eaten, as we are told by Poli,* either raw or 

 cooked with oil, pepper, salt, herbs, and bread-crumbs, 

 and are called cocciola at Naples, and cappa tonda at 

 Venice; and Major Byng Hallf speaks of cockles stewed 

 in oil as being greatly prized by the natives of Madrid. 



Fam. SOLENID.E. 



SOLEN.— RAZOR-SHELL. 



Solen siliqua. Linnaeus. Razor Shell. — Shell 

 straight, open at both extremities. Two teeth in left 

 valve, and one in the other ; exterior covered with an 

 olivaceous epidermis, concentrically striated. Breadth 

 1 inch, length from 7 to 8 inches. 



The razor or spout-fishes are all good for food, but 

 Solen siliqua, which is the largest of our British species, is 

 the one generally collected for that purpose. Solen ensis 



* ' Testacea utriusque Sicilian,' 1795. 

 f ' Queen's Messenger,' p. 341. 



