MUSSELS AND PECTENS 47 



You can see the little notch in one of my shells where 

 I put out my finger and made fast my threads. It 

 is just under one of the 'ears' of the shell, and you 

 can find it in Figure 21. 



"Well, I lived down in the water for a good many 

 months and I saw many things that you would like 

 to see. There was a whole bed of my brothers and 

 sisters around me, and all sorts of funny things 

 used to come and visit us. Sometimes a big jelly- 

 fish would swim by, looking for all the world like a 

 glass umbrella. We seldom spoke to the jellies, for 

 they seemed rather vain of their long trains, and 

 we did not care to encourage them. 



"Sometimes our visitors would coax us to reach 

 out our little fingers and untie our cords and take 

 a swim. We were often willing to do this in fine 

 weather, and many a famous journey we have taken, 

 sometimes visiting other species of Pectens that have 

 their home far out from the shore. 



"I grew rapidly, getting my food from little plants 

 and animals that abound in sea-water, and as I kept 

 enlarging my pretty shells, they never failed to 

 cover me when I wished to be alone. I have heard 

 that our shells have been used for many purposes 

 by men and women, and of course the children 

 always love to find them, and use them for spoons 

 and dishes. The funniest thing of all was told me 

 by an oyster, who said his grandfather had heard a 

 fisherman say that sometimes the meats of oysters 

 are mixed with cracker-crumbs and butter, and baked 

 in large scollop-shells, and so when they are brought 

 to the table they are called escalloped oysters. You 



