34 THE CONCHOLOGIC.AI. MAGAZINE 



common. The flesh is hard and not good to eat, but it is often put 

 in a bowl of 'Suiuiono,' a kind of soup. 



All bivalves have the adductor muscle, but the only adductor 

 muscle dealt in by shell-fish-dealers seems to be that of this shell-fish. 



( 'ai diitvi papyracatm Chemn.- — Tori-gai. 



The origin of the Japanese name of this shell is uncertain. In 

 some Japanese Conchological Classics, it is stated that this name 

 originated from the fact that the flesh resembles a bird's bill in shape. 

 It is also called ' Cluvwan-gai' (tea-cup-shell); some-times by the 

 name 'Urushi-gai' (varnish-shell), because in the reign of the 

 Tokugawas dealers in lacquer used to put the same in this shell. 



Everywhere in the sea or bays about Japan is it to be found, 

 yet it is especially in the Inland Sea and the Bay of Ise that we can 

 find plenty of it. Whether boiled or dried, it has a good taste. 



Trigonella sachalinensis Schrenck. — Uba-gai. 



This species has the name of 'Hokki-gai ' in the north-eastern 

 districts of Japan. It lives mostly in the coasts of Hokkaido, 

 Rikuzen, Rikuchu and Mutsu, and seems to be along the coast as 

 far as the sea about Ibaraki Prefecture ; but it is seldom found in 

 any bay or sea, west of the Bay of Tokyo. Its flesh is usually 

 dried ; and is appreciated for its excellent taste. 



Mytilus crassitesta Lischke. — I-gai. 



Some-times pearls happen to be found in this shell ; but the 

 deepness of their color makes them inferior in quality. A large one 

 of this species measures more than three inches and a halt in length. 

 As showed in the cut (Vol. II, No. 5, p. 165), it always clings to 

 some other substance by means of tendinous fibres called ' byssus.' 

 It can, however, move anywhere else at its convenience, so to speak, 

 when the old chain (byssus) is cut and a new one prepared for its 

 new buoy. It is to be found everywhere in the sea about Japan ; 

 but its flesh is not good to eat ; only some of the dried flesh being 

 exported to China. 



