Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 82.djvu/543

Rh in transverse and longitudinal rows. The teeth are pointed backward, and as the tongue is thrust out and drawn in, the radula rasps a hole in the succulent kelp, carrying the fragments of food to the opening of the gullet. Two chitinous jaws, one at either side within the mouth, but united in the midline, serve as scrapers to hold back in the mouth cavity the particles of food adhering to the radula. This method of feeding abalones individually by hand is of importance in easily caring for the animals in confinement in aquaria or in enclosed pools, or live-boxes in marine farming.

As food the abalone is one of the best of our marine mollusks. Detached from the shell, the visceral mass and mantle fringe are trimmed off from the large central muscle, which is then cut transversely into slices. These small steaks, when beaten four or five times with the flat side of a meat-cleaver and then fried in butter, are tender and delicious. The meat is also equally delectable when served as a chowder or minced. Besides supplying the local market the mollusks may be shipped across the continent, for when individuals are placed one on top of the other, in a sort of a living nest, they will survive for as long as six days without water, feeding upon the organisms and organic slime covering the shells upon which they rest. While the American market is not sufficiently developed to create an active demand