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bushel, shells and all, and the oyster fisherman is patiently waiting 
for the inventive genius who will show him the way to protect 
this delicate morsel for the sole use of the highest order of animal 
life, hut so far the oyster has declined to become party to any 
such monopoly. 
Mytilus cdulis .—Of this family there are forty-two known and 
described species. The edible mussel is found in great numbers 
on most rocky coasts, where facilities are afforded for the mollusks 
to moor themselves to rocks, stones and other substances covered 
at high-water, hut left dry by the retreating tide. They are not, 
however, confined to shores of this description, but are some¬ 
times found in vast numbers on low sandy or pebbly flats, which 
run far out into the sea.j These are called beds of mussels. In 
Europe where the mussel is appreciated as an article of food these 
beds receive the same cultivation and protection as oysters. As a 
ship by its cable, so commonly the mussel, by its byssus or beard, 
is made fast to its anchorage-ground be it pebbly or sandy beach or 
jutting rock. Its greatest peculiarity is its manner of locomotion ; 
it has a short, fleshy foot, in shape something like a fat baby’s, 
and this it can advance about two inches beyond the edge of the 
shell, then fixing the front of it to a piece of rock or any other 
body, and contracting it, the shell is drawn onward, and sure, 
though slow, progress is made in any desired direction. There 
is a vast deal more to say on the Mytilidas family, but having 
used so much time in connection with the oyster, a great deal 
of which is applicable to all bivalves, I must pass rapidly over 
this and the following varieties. 
Pecte?i ftleuronectcs or flounder scallop.—This is remarkable 
for having the two valves of the shell of different colors, the upper 
ones being of a rich reddish brown, and the lower one white. 
There are sixty-seven described species, and according to Defiance 
• ninety-eight fossil. This family are noted for their ears, the pro¬ 
cesses on each side of the beak. Some have one ear very large 
and the other small, and some are scarcely observable on one side, 
the superior ear being the large one and the inferior the small 
one. 
Pecten Jatiauratus or dancing scallop.—The action of the 
abductor muscle gives this scallop the appearance of dancing on 
