SOLENID^. RAZOR- SflELL. 
41 
all of one colour, but the female fish is all of one colour, 
and much sweeter than the male; and they are eaten 
boiled and fried, but they are best of all when roasted 
on the coals till their shells open. And the people who 
collect this sort of oyster are called solenistae, as Phaenias 
the Eresian relates in his book which is entitled The 
Killing of Tyrants by way of Punishment;^ where he 
speaks as follows : — ^ Philoxenus, who was called the 
Solenist, became a tyrant from having been a dema- 
gogue. In the beginning he got his living by being a 
fisherman, and a hunter after solens ; and so, having 
made a little money, he advanced and got a good pro- 
perty.^ 
On some parts of our shores great quantities of razor- 
shells are collected, sometimes by putting a little salt 
on the holes, which irritates the fish and makes it rise 
to the surface ; and again in the following manner, as 
described by Messrs. Forbes and Hanley “ A long 
narrow wire, bent and sharpened at the end, is suddenly 
thrust into the hollows of the sands indicative of the 
presence of these animals, and, passing between the 
valves, the barbed portion fixes itself, on retraction, in 
the animal, and forces it to the surface.^’ At Tenby 
baskets-full are often brought to the door, and they are 
considered very good to eat. In Japan they are said to 
be so highly prized that, by the express order of the 
prince of that country, it is forbid to fish them, until a 
sufficient quantity hath been provided for the emperor’s 
table.”^ 
In the Bay of Concepcion are several species of shell- 
fish highly esteemed, and Ulloa especially mentions some 
Yenuses and a number of razor-shells. 
* ‘ Glimpses of Ocean Life,’ by John Harper, F.E.S. 
