28 EDIBLE BRITISH MOLLUSCA. 



brightest I ever found was near Dawlish; it was 

 mauve colour, with white streaks. The largest are 

 dredged at Tenby. 



In Ireland, at Youghal, in Birterbury Bay, in Con- 

 nemara, and in Bantry Bay, Tapes av,rea is said to 

 be eaten, but it is not a common species, though 

 locally abundant; and in the spring numbers are 

 found in the Scilly Isles. At Falmouth, it is brought 

 to market with Tapes decussata from Helford, and both 

 kinds are called " hens." 



The Spaniards prize the Tapes highly, as I pre- 

 viously observed. At Cadiz, shellfish are considered 

 good if people drink too much wine, and consequently 

 they are often introduced at festas; and no food is 

 considered by the Spaniards so nourishing as shellfish 

 for those who work hard. 



It is a rule at Spanish tables to hand round white 

 wine with shellfish, though with other things they 

 use any wine indiscriminately, and the wisdom of this 

 custom is proved by experience. Indeed serious 

 illnesses are often caused by taking port wine with 

 oysters, lobsters, &c. ; the astringent qualities of port, 

 having the effect of hardening the shellfish, and some- 

 times producing violent indigestion. In Paris not so 

 very long ago, we might have read amongst the many 

 varied signs, the following, " le vin blanc, hon pour les 

 huitres." The following recipes for cooking the Tapes 

 are from Cadiz. 



Tapes Soup — Sopa de Almejas. — Wash the shells and 

 put them into a saucepan with a little water, then put 

 them on the fire for a few minutes to open them. Pick 

 the fish out and put them into a clean saucepan, with 

 an onion chopped very small, salt, pepper, and butter. 



