32 WEST AMERICAN SHELLS 
of the ocean. What soft tints of olive green in the 
seaweeds, enlivened by the brilliant red of a star- 
fish or the bright emerald of a frill of Ulva. How 
beautifully they harmonize with the gray of the 
rocks and the blue of the sea and sky. What fer- 
tile suggestions for an artist who is seeking new 
patterns for a fabric or a carpet. 
But to return to our mussel, the flesh of which is 
bright orange-colored. Its shell is one of the first 
on our coast that received attention in Kurope. In 
1789 Captain George Dixon published an account 
of his voyage around the world, and speaks of find- 
ing this species on the northwest coast of America, 
in the following words: : 
We saw, also, on this coast a kind of mussel, in color and 
shape much like the common edible mussel of Europe, but differed 
in being circularly wrinkled and a great deal larger. One valve 
I saw at Queen Charlotte’s Islands measured above nine inches 
and one-half in length. With pieces of these mussels, sharpened 
to an exquisite edge and point, the Indians head their harpoons 
and other instruments for fishing. They fasten them on with a 
kind of resinous substance. 
Mytilus edulis, Linn., the Edible Mussel, is the 
same species that is found on the shores of the 
Atlantic. The shell is smooth and regular and is 
covered with a dark, glossy epidermis. The shell 
is smaller than that of the last, and it is more often 
found in quiet water. In San Francisco Bay, a 
variety, glomeratus, Gld., is found clinging in 
large groups to posts and wharves. Its length is 
seldom more than two inches. It is one of the few 
mollusks commonly found for sale in the San 
Francisco markets. 
