The Scallops 335 



of un freshened shucked oysters. If they feel that the 

 bloating of scallops is necessary to the trade, it would 

 seem that dealers might ship them in a normal state, al- 

 lowing agents to bring about the required pathological 

 condition after they had reached their destination. But 

 the fact is that the market near the shore is sufficient for 

 the present scanty supply, prices are already high, at 

 times reaching five dollars a gallon at wholesale, and if 

 scallops were to be sold unfreshened, a still greater sum 

 would have to be asked for them. The scallop dredger 

 has a good reason for continuing to freshen his product, 

 and the consumer may continue to live in ignorance of 

 the nature of the unspoiled article. 



Those who are familiar with the scallop as it is ex- 

 posed for sale in cities near the coast, have seen only 

 small, white cylinders of flesh, for the part that is eaten 

 is the single adductor muscle, the remainder of the body, 

 tender and of fine flavor, being thrown away, or at best 

 used as a fertilizer. That this is a great sacrifice appears 

 from the fact that a bushel of scallops yields but two and 

 a half or three quarts of " meats." 



Among the common names applied to the form in 

 America are " scallop," u scollop," and " escallop," while 

 on the Gulf of Mexico, where, however, it is not known 

 as a food mollusk, it is called a clam. In England such 

 names as " queens," " frills," and " fan-shells " are 

 heard. 



Two species, Pecten irradians and Pecten tenuicos- 

 tatus, the one found from Cape Cod to Texas, the- other 

 north of the cape, are captured on our eastern and 

 southern coasts. The warm water scallop is the smaller, 

 its shell attaining a maximum diameter of about three 

 and a half inches. It is marked by radiating grooves, 



