b 



The Nautilus. 



Vol. v. JULY, 1891. No. 3. 



EDIBLE SHELL NOTES, FOR THE NAUTILUS. 



BY ROBT. F:. C. STEARNS. 



In adilition to tlie species of edible mollusks in the San Francisco 

 markets heretofore noted by Professor Keej) and myself, a recent 

 letter from INIr. W. M. Wood of San Francisco informs me that 

 " Tivela crassatelloides is very often sold in the San Francisco 

 markets especially the 'California Market' so-called. I bought 

 quite a lot of them a couple of weeks ago. They were of huge size 

 about six inches in length. I observed they had some five hundred, 

 or so behind the counter, for sale. The proprietor of the fish stall 

 told me they Avere brought up from the vicinity (shore) of San Luis 

 Obispo county. Near Fort Point (on the entrance to San 

 Francisco Bay) known as * Fort Winfield Scott' the soldier's boys at 

 the Presidio go out near the fort and dig SchizothcB7'us Nuttalli, with 

 which their mothers make clam-chowder or clam-pies. In fact I 

 have collected them myself." What good mothers! 



Schizothcerus Nuttalli beats any clam yet discovered for chowder, 

 soup or pies. It is nearly like an oyster in consistency, has a very 

 small foot, the proportion of hard or tough muscle being much less 

 than in 3Iya arenaria ; the mere memory of the soups and chowders 

 I have eaten at various times, where Schizothcerus was the grand 

 staple, is like a gleam of sunshine through a London fog, and worth 

 having ; it is a noble and estimable clam. The California Indians, 

 as well as those further north around Puget Sound, know them well 

 and like 'em. In this conchological respect, I appreciate the red 

 man's malacological taste and judgment. Schizothcerus burrows 



