PRESERVING THE ANIMAL AS FOOD. 



223 



tightly that he could not pull them away before the tide, advancing with 

 cruel speed, had drowned the poor wretch in the creature's relentless 

 clutch. Whether or not this be an "ow'r-true tale," it well illustrates the 

 strength with which the haliotis holds to its site — a power of anchorage 

 needed when storms beat upon its native reef with almost resistless force. 

 The tenacity of life in this mollusk seems equal to its hold npon the 

 rocks. R. E. C. Stearns, of San Francisco, writes that he has frequently 

 removed the animal from the shell by means of a sharp knife, and thrown 

 it back into the water, when " it would at once descend and place itself 

 iu its normal position upon a rock, to which it would adhere with appar- 

 ently as much tenacity as before it was deprived of its shelly covering." 



THE ABALONE, FULLY EXPANDED. 



The flesh of the abalone has long formed an article of food in various 

 parts of the world, such as the Channel Islands, France, along the Medi- 

 terranean (where they beat it to make it tender), Senegal, the South Sea 

 Islands, Malaya, China, Japan, and our Pacific coast. It was described 

 by old Athenseus, centuries and centuries ago, as " exceedingly nutritious, 

 but indigestible," and holds its reputation well. A gentleman who lately 

 ate it in Japan said his first mouthful seemed as tough and tasteless as 

 so much india-rubber, but that presently the morsel dissolved into gran- 

 ules and could be swallowed, developing a flavor not unpleasant. Mexico 

 exports it to us under the Custom-house heading, "dried oysters." In 

 San Francisco and the coast towns it is rarely eaten except by Chinese, 

 who are the only ones that gather it. A simple process of salting and 

 drying is all that is necessary for its preservation, in which shape it is 

 sent to China. In order to get a ton of meat, about six tons of living 



