THE ANIMAL LIFE OF THE GROUP. 445 



Attempts at Oyster Culture. 



lu 1871 the first attempt was made to iiiti'oducc the Eastci'ii oystci-^^ into 

 Hawaii. Again in 1883, Mv. Allen Herbert purchased three hundred Eastern 

 oysters in San Francisco and planted them in Kalihi Bay. but heavy freshets 

 in the stream covered them with mud. In October, 1893, another attempt 

 was made. This time one thousand Eastern and three thousand California 

 oysters 1^ were secured in San Francisco and planted in ponds at Ewa in 

 shallow water. In a very short time the California oysters died. The Eastern 

 oysters thrived better, and by 1895 ]Mr. J. F. Colburn undertook a more exten- 

 sive planting. More than thirty-eight thousand oysters were planted in that 

 year, but they did not thrive, and by 1901 only a few living shells could be 

 found. 



Next to the oysters come the pretty scale-like golden saddle oyster (pipi) 

 or Anomia shells. The common species i*' are irregular in form and the valves 

 are unequal. The lower and usually the flatter valve is remarkable for the 

 hole near the hinge through which a plug-like peduncle passes by which the 

 shell is attached to other shells or rocks. Fine specimens occur about Ford's 

 Island, at Pearl City, and are to be found in suitable places in other locnlities. 



The scallops or pectens,^' of which two or three species are quite common, 

 as well as a related genus, ^'^ are more regular and symmetrical in the growth 

 of the shell. They are usually flushed with rose color and ornamented with 

 radiating ribs. The wing-like ears together with the symmetrical outline of 

 the shell renders the genus ^'^ an easy one to identify, and as the species are 

 fond of sandy bottoms and shallow water their shells are scattered here and 

 there along our beaches. The shell of Ilinnites is irregular in growth. As they 

 are usually attached to some submerged object, they are less commonly found 

 on the shore. 



Coming to the clam-like mollusks of the islands, first place sliouhl l)e 

 given to the olepe -*^ by reason of its being the most important shell-bearing 

 food mollusk of the group, though the present day Ilawaiians ai)ply flic same 

 name indiscriminately to a number of edil)l(' l)ivalves that are in no wax- 

 closely related to the common species. Full-grown specimens of the olepe are 

 two inches or more in length and are creamy white in color. 'I'hcy arc slightly 

 flattened, but are rounded in front and angnlar and slightly folded posteriorly. 

 The shell is beautifully sculptured witli wavy lines which become more and 

 more jn-onounced as the shell advances in age. They are fond of Imrying 

 themselves in tlie soft mud at the mouths of i-ivei-s and ha\c long been an 

 article of food especially prized by the Ilawaiians. A snuiller. smoother, more 

 delicate milk-white species ^^ known ])y the s.-mie name by the natives is often 

 found in large numbers on the sandy beaches on the windwai'd side of Oahu. 



A small, round, white clam -- also occurs in Pearl Harlioi-. Ixitli as a living 



^* Ostrea virgiyiica. '^^ O.strea liirido. ^'^ Aiiumia nohiiis. ^~ Pectinidce. ^^ Ilitnntes ffigantetis. 



'» Pecten. -° Tellina ruyosn. -' Tellina disixn-. -- Cadokia = (Lucina) ramtilosa. 



