92 WEST AMERICAN SHELLS 
The mollusks which are now to be considered 
belong to the Solenidxw, and include what are pop- 
ularly known as the Razor-shells, because most of 
them are long and narrow and resemble somewhat 
in shape the handle of a razor. Most of them are 
covered with a glossy epidermis, making them look 
as if they had received a coat of varnish. Some 
of the names refer to bean-pods, which the shells 
resemble even more than they do razors. 
Siliqua 
patula, Dix- 
on, the Flat 
Razor-shell, 
(Machera 
patula) , is 
shown in 
Figure 82. 
Beautiful 
examples of this shell are found on the Oregon 
coast and farther north, though it is not wholly 
absent from the south also. Broken shells used 
to be washed up on the Cliff House beach in San 
Francisco. 
As this shell was figured long ago I will quote 
its description from the words of the discoverer, 
Capt. George Dixon, who wrote an exceedingly 
interesting book entitled ‘‘A Voyage Round the 
World,’’ which was published in London in 1789. 
This is said by Dr. P. P. Carpenter to be probably 
the ‘‘first description on record of mollusks from 
the Pacific shores of N. America by the original 
collector.’ 
