THE ANIMAL LIFE OF THE GROUP. 445 



Attempts at Oyster Culture. 



In 1871 tlie first attempt was made to introduce the Eastern oyster ^^ into 

 Hawaii. Again in 1883, Mr. Allen Herbert piirchased three hundred Eastern 

 oysters iu San Francisco and planted them in Kalilii Bay, but heavy freshets 

 in the stream covered them with mud. In October, 1893, another attempt 

 was made. This time one thousand Eastern and three thousand California 

 oysters ^^ were secured in San Francisco and planted in ponds at Ewa in 

 shallow -water. In a very short time the California oysters died. The Eastern 

 oysters thrived better, and by 1895 Mr. J. P. Colburn undertook a more exten- 

 sive planting. More than thirty-eight thousand oysters were planted in that 

 year, but they did not thrive, and by 1901 only a few living shells could be 

 found. 



Next to the oysters come the pretty scale-like golden saddle oyster (pipi) 

 or Anomia shells. The common species i" are irregular in form and the valves 

 are unequal. The lower and usually the flatter valve is remarkable for the 

 hole near the hinge through which a plug-like peduncle passes by which the 

 shell is attached to other shells or rocks. Fine specimens occur about Ford's 

 Island, at Pearl City, and are to be found in suitable places in other localities. 



The scallops or pectens,'^ of which two or three species are quite common, 

 as well as a related genus,^* are more regular and symmetrical in the growth 

 of the shell. They are usually flushed with rose color and ornamented with 

 radiating ribs. The wing-like ears together with the symmetrical outline of 

 the shell renders the genus i'-' an easy one to identify, and as the species are 

 fond of sandy bottoms and shallow water their shells are scattered here and 

 there along our beaches. The shell of Hinnites is irregular in growth. As they 

 are usiiall.y attached to some submerged object, they are less commonly found 

 on the shore. 



Coming to the clam-like mollusks of the islands, first place should be 

 given to the olepe '^'^ by reason of its being the most important shell-bearing 

 food moUusk of the group, though the present day Hawaiians apply the same 

 name indiscriminately to a number of edible bivalves that are in no way 

 closely related to the common species. Full-grown specimens of the olepe are 

 two inches or more in length and are creamy white in color. They are slightly 

 flattened, but are rounded in front and angular and slightly folded posteriorly. 

 The shell is beautifully sculptured with wavy lines which become more and 

 more pronounced as the sliell advances in age. Tliey are fond of burying 

 themselves in the soft mud at the mouths of rivers and have long been an 

 article of food especially prized by the Hawaiians. A smaller, smoother, more 

 delicate milk-white species -^ known by the same name by the natives is often 

 foiind in large numbers on the sandy beaches on the windward side of Oahu. 



A small, round, white clam -- also occurs in Pearl Harbor, both as a living 



lurida. ^'^ Anomia nobiUs. ^~ Pcctinidie. ^^ Eiiinites giganteua. 



=1 Tellina dispar. '- Cadokia = (Lucina) ramulosa. 



