PECTEN. 55 



In the north of France it is called " Petite-Vanne"; 

 and Collard cles Cherres says that it is eaten in Brittany, 

 as well as other kinds of scallops. The pallial ten- 

 tacles or cirri of the variety nivea are extremely inter- 

 esting and beantiful objects. They are of different 

 colours in the same individual — white, yellow, and brown 

 — and are sometimes edged with black or purple. Some 

 of them are much longer than others, and each has a 

 white line or streak down the middle. The longest have 

 a few milk-white specks, and their tips are curled like a 

 crosier. A few of these tentacles are three-quarters of 

 an inch long. All are contractile and extremely sensi- 

 tive. The outermost row folds back over the margins 

 of the shell. The edges of the mantle are studded with 

 papilla. The ocelli do not correspond in number or 

 position with the ribs of the shell, there being two eye- 

 lets for every three ribs. All the specimens (about 

 twenty in number) examined by me on the 1st of Sep- 

 tember 1862, at Oban, shed from time to time a milky 

 fluid which I found was entirely composed of sper- 

 matozoa. These moved actively about in every direc- 

 tion and spread in the water like a thick mist. The 

 quantity emitted by each individual was very great, and 

 after every discharge the water became more turbid. 

 All these specimens had ovaries of a pale-yellow or 

 cream colour. This seemed to me a sufficient proof 

 of the monoecious character of the Scallop; and it 

 showed that the mode of its fecundation is the same 

 as takes place in many plants — only substituting sper- 

 matozoa for pollen-dust, and the waves for the wind 

 or winged insects. A quarter of a century ago, when 

 this pretty variety was not easily procurable and 

 therefore exceedingly rare, a specimen fetched £2. 

 Fifty or more may now be had for the same price. I 



