April 20: T have come to the conclusion that the present time Is Practically the equivalent of that first month with an "R" in it which, according to the European calendar marks the opening of the oyster Season: it is, In fact, the time when the native fresh-water Mussel Is ready for consumption....or it may merely be that now the first crops are planted the countryman finds time to £0 In search of them. However this! may be, I now sce squads of workers every morning, bare to the hips, standing knee-deep in slimy creeks, emptying the water out with wicker shovels, and digging up these mighty' malluses from the mud. These large Mussels, some of them larger than man's hand, are known to the Chinese as "Pang" (or "Bang" in the local dialect), "Swan Mussels" to Euro-
[peans, and as Anodonto woodiana to those of scientific bent. The interior anatomy looks to me something like the yolk of an egg which has been, kept too long, and I think it Is not! to be wondered at that the smaller sizes are said to make the best eat~ ing: but what interests me most about these mussels is the uses to which the shells are pul. Passing any small farmhouse in the far country T notice that the largest of the shells, fre scraped and cut square and used panes in the latticed windows: with the pearly coating turned out to the light they look most attractive and they are quite sufficiently translucent to admit all the light which Chinese coltager demands. Then again in the very poorest cottages, and more especially on besaer-boats, sce the larger shells being used as tea-cups, or other small" vessels; which makes me wonder if this could possibly be the origin of what the Highlanders call a "quaich."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.