411 



CHAPTER XII. 



Animal Food Furnished by the Mollusca 

 AND Radiata. 



Oysters — Classification and varieties of — Statistics of French 

 Production — Magnitude of American Oyster Trade — Green 

 Oysters — Shipments of Oysters in Barrels and Cans — Statis- 

 tics of American Production— Canadian Oysters — Scallops — 

 Razor-fish — Clams, varieties of — Clam Bake Feasts in the 

 United States — Other Species of Mollusks, Tapes, Venus, 

 Pholas, &c. — Mussels — French Trade in — British Consump- 

 tion — Zoophytes, Actinia — Modes of Cooking — Curious Fish 

 Dinner — Cephalopods, Sepia, Ootopi, Squids, Sea-Urchins — 

 Trepang or Beche-de-Mer — Varieties of — Large Consumption 

 of in China — Indian Exports — Leeches and Worms Eaten. 



Bivahes. — Among the bivalves there is a much larger 

 variety which are esteemed food delicacies in various 

 quarters than of the univalves ; thus we have cockles, 

 oysters, scallops, clams, mussels, &c. 



The poor Malays and Chinese use most kinds of shell- 

 fish as food, and they search the shores and coasts of the 

 islands and peninsula most diligently for species of 

 Spondylus and Ohama, &c. 



Cockles {Cardiuin edule) are deservedly esteemed a 

 delicious and wholesome food in this country, although 

 in France they are little regarded. They are in season 

 during March, April and May, after which they become 

 milky and insipid. They are considered by the people 

 very nutritious, especially when boiled with milk. 



" The natives of the seignory of Gower cook cockles 

 in various ways j sometimes they fry them with ham. 

 They also make excellent pies of cockles with chopped 

 chives, a layer of bacon being placed at the bottom of 



