AND THE FISH THEREOF. 95 



commerce. H. tubulosa is eaten at Naples, but only by the lowest classes ; 

 it is not eaten at all in the Adriatic. 



Sea- Urchins {Rizzi di marc) and Star-fishes (Stclle marine) are 

 sometimes caught in large quantities by the trawls and seines, and the latter 

 are generally reconsigned to the deep. This is a mistake, as they might 

 be used as manure ; besides which, they commit great ravages on the 

 oyster-banks. The Urchins, when in egg, are eaten raw, and, on account of 

 their greater development than in northern waters, become rather important 

 articles of food for the lower classes in winter and spring ; this is especially 

 the case with Echinus mclo. 



In Sicily they are in season about the full moon of March, where E. escu- 

 lentus still goes by the name of " King of Urchins," whilst the larger 

 " Melon" Urchin {Melon di marc) is popularly considered to be its mother; 

 hence its name, Echiuometra, among the ancient naturalists. The size and 

 abundance of these edible species is a striking peculiarity of all Mediterranean 

 and Adriatic fish-markets. 



At Trieste and Fiume the consumption is small, but they are eaten more 

 or less along the whole coast, and the consumption increases in the south, 

 especially on the coasts of Greece, and generally by Greek sailors, when in 

 season. In Dalmatia they are pounded and used as bait in the basket- 

 traps (Alassc), and also as a cure for diarrhoea. 



E. brevispinosus and E. lividus are eaten at Trieste and in Istria under 

 the name of Rizzi di mare ; E. mclo in Dalmatia, under the name of Melone 

 di mare. 



All Sea-anemones {Actinia) are edible, and are to be met with in large 

 quantities in most French fish-markets, such as Marseilles, Cette, Bordeaux, 

 Bayonne, &c, under the name of cnl de mulct. 



Here the green Actinia {Actinia viridis), Madrona, occasionally appears 

 in the markets of Trieste and on the coast of Istria, where it is caught near 

 the shore, on stony and sandy beds ; it is sprinkled with flour and fried 

 in oil. 



