114 THE NAUTILUS. 



PALUDINA JAPONICA MART. FOR SALE IN THE SAN FRANCISCO 

 CHINESE MARKETS. 



BY WILLIARD M. WOOD, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 



While on my way down town to business from my residence 

 one morning, about nine o'clock, I found it necessary to pass 

 through Chinatown in order to reach a certain store where I 

 desired to leave an order, and while walking through the narrow, 

 crowded, ill-smelling streets of that portion of the city, which by 

 the way, contains some twenty-five thousand Chinese, my attention 

 was called to a very large flaring red sign, upon which were Chinese 

 letters, hung in front of a Chinese vegetable and butcher shop. I 

 stopped a few moments to glance down toward the bottom of this 

 sign, and saw a good sized wooden bucket. This was filled up to 

 the top "with dirty looking water and little brown shells. 



I examined one and found it alive. Now was my chance to 

 obtain a Japanese species for my cabinet ; a species which I had 

 never seen alive in this State before. 



I found the i:)roprietor of the shop and said to him, " Where did 

 you get these, John ?" " Me no sabbe," was his reply. Then I 

 ventured to ask him for how much he sold them, and again came 

 his reply, " Me no sabbe." Just then a Chinamen who was stand- 

 ing by, turned around, and evidently saw that we could not make 

 each other understand, for he stepped up to me and said in very 

 good English, " What you want? 1 tell him. I speak English." 



By this fellow acting as interpreter, I found out that the shells in 

 the bucket were the first lot brought alive from Japan. He in- 

 formed me that they were called by the Chinese "Teen Law." I 

 immediately asked him for the translation of this name. It means 

 Field Shell. 



He went on to tell me that these shells were very good to eat, and 

 he had just bought some, intending to take them to his wife. She 

 would throw them into boiling water, letting them remain for a few 

 moments. Then they were to be taken out, the operculum removed^ 

 and the foot separated from the soft body, salted, peppered and 

 eaten . 



Having a.sked all the questions I desired, I thanked the inter- 

 preter and then purchased some, for which I paid the small sum of 

 ten cents per dozen. 



