PEEFACE. 



In these days, when attention has been so much di- 

 rected towards the cultivation of the common kinds of 

 eatahle shell-fish, it is surprising that the importance 

 of certain others for food has been hitherto almost en- 

 tirely overlooked. We understand the good qualities 

 of oysters, cockles, and a few other kinds ; but some 

 equally nutritious (which are universally eaten on the 

 Continent) are seldom, if ever, seen in our markets, or 

 are only used locally as food, and the proper modes of 

 cooking them are scarcely known. I have therefore 

 endeavoured to call attention to all the eatable species 

 common on our coasts, and also to those which, though 

 not found here in abundance, might be cultivated as 

 easily as oysters, and form valuable articles of food. 



M. S. LOVELL. 



