PECTlNTDiE.- — SCALLOP. 
99 
water through the compressed edges of the mantle. He 
says, When the Pecten is about to leap, it draws in as 
much water as it can contain within the mantle, while 
the lips are held firmly in contact. At this instant the 
united edges of the lips are slightly drawn inward, and 
this action gives sure warning of the coming leap. The 
moment after this is observed, the animal, doubtless by 
muscular contraction, exerts a strong force upon the 
contained water, while it relaxes the forced contact of 
the lips at any point of the circumference, according to 
its pleasure. The result is, the forcible ejection of a jet 
of water from that point, which, by the resilience of its 
impact upon the surrounding fluid, throws the animal 
in the opposite direction, with a force proportioned to 
that of the jet d^eauP Again, Mr. Gosse adds, That 
the Pecten widely opens and forcibly closes its valves if 
left uncovered by the water, is, doubtless, correct. I 
have seen my specimen perform such an action, and per- 
haps it might by such means jerk itself from place to 
place, with considerable agility. But I do not think so 
rude a mode of progression could enable it to select the 
direction of its leaps, which under water appears to me 
to be determined with so much precision.^^* 
Scallops are found pretty generally distributed in all 
seas, and are much sought after for food. At Wey- 
mouth, the average produce of the trawlers is five bushels 
of scallops per week. They have been sold at 2d. per hun- 
dred, 700 going to the bushel ;t but they appear to have 
become scarcer lately, if one may judge by the price at 
which they are now sold, viz. ^d. a dozen, and 2d, per 
dozen for the shells without the fish, for making into shell 
* ‘ Devonshire Coast,’ by P. H. Grosse, pp. 50 and 52. 
t ‘A Year at the Shore,’ by P. H. Q-osse, p. 25. 
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