dim] 



ORIENTAL COMMERCE. 



495 



its not proving slimy or mucilaginous in the mouth. Its taste is sub-acrid, 

 bitterish, and somewhat styptic, and its smell slightly aromatic. Those 

 pieces which appear green or black, when broken through the middle, should 

 be rejected, 8 Cwt. of rhubarb are allowed to a ton. 



Sea-Weed. — Some species of sea-weed are much esteemed in China. 

 The fiicua mvchnrlmis is of considerable breadth as well as length; when 

 cleansed from sand, suit, and other impurities, and dried, it is used on several 

 occasions j it is sometimes eaten boiled, and at other times raw, when it is 

 scraped till it is white, and cut into small slips about the breadth of a 

 nail, and 2 inches long. Some kinds of greenish and brownish sea-weed, 

 which are naturally tough, are well washed, cleansed from sand and other 

 impurities, then cut into small pieces, formed into little cakes, and eaten 

 without any other preparation. 



Shells. — The most beautiful shells we are acquainted with, come from 

 the East Indies. China, and the Red Sea. Amlmyna supptics the most beau- 

 tiful specimens of the cabbage-shell, the ducal mantle, a great variety of 

 beautiful muscles, wreathed shells, trumpet shells, and that called the 

 /Ethiopian crown in its greatest perfection. The dolia are also found 

 there in great beauty. Many elegant snails and screw-shells are also brought 

 from thence, and finally the serapion and spider shells. The Maldive and 

 Philippine Islands, Bengal, and the Malabar Coast abound with the most 

 elegant of all the species of snails, and furnish many other kinds of shells in 

 great abundance and perfection. China abounds in the finest specimens of 

 porcelain shells, and has also a great variety of beautiful snails. Japan 

 furnishes the thicker and larger bivalves. The east coast of Africa is very 

 rich in shells ; here are found a great variety of the large procelains, many 

 of them of great beauty, and all the species of nautilus, many of which 

 are very beautiful. The lted Sea is, beyond all other parts of the world, 

 abundant in shells ; scarcely any kind is wanting there ; but what we princi- 

 pally have from thence are the purpura?, porcelain, and sea-eggs. 



In collecting shells it is most advisable, whenever it can be done, to get 

 those which have in them the living animals, because the shells are then ob- 

 tained in their natural beauty, and the full glow of their colours ; for when 

 they have been much exposed to the sun, their colours fade, and they 

 are liable to other accidents that injure them. To kill the fish, it is recom- 

 mended to give them a quick dip in boiling water; and when they are 

 cooled, to lay them in cold water till they are cleaned. 



Shells are subject to several imperfections, some of which are natural, 

 and others accidental ; the natural defects are the effect of age, or sickness 

 in the fish. The greatest mischief happens to shells by the fish dying in 



