New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-07-28
CLANS.


charges Of tempe ra;u,e-rho delicious in August
o. he is savory IN January, ana who never becomes
less palstsbe on sccoun, OF family cares, Ia the
toroItd subj.ct OF present o.-course Ot course
the esrfal uen Of science dn e. lin alone, bur
Rave ctnstened him with several long and high
sounding names that BE doesn't Il enk then for and
OF content with this they heap op2robrious epithets
on sill his connections, whom they sigmaiiZs 10
lump as a family of lsmelibrarebiste bivalvss.
An.r that, no ope viii wonder that the outraged clam
frequently reres TO those secluded hooks only found
ID 10 feet water that be may escspe further grstuitous
iusu. Bot they iolios him here, and huri their
scientific Bpgsga;e all. hm in this vice the brosd
rea clam they Willy under the bsrbarous title of
.uaetraeigaatcd II they innocent soft clam,
they d.fsme hin Hya .ireaGri1 AID ii they put
their in pertinent eyes unoifrnding hari clam,
known 10 Us under the endearing title of "Qushsug,
they str-gltway take away h.s character under the
bame of Venus Mrcendri0. Now, a. the original
VEINS wss blacksmith wife Of bal character, and
as auelcerMy Venus must be seveia! shades worse
than the frst one submt that the tsle deisma
tory, and that Linnaus bss clearly given ample
provoc alton fer libel suit, and if be never had to
psy any damages II is because mnu;sbIe jGsce does
Lot CON preht nd tie eropgs of CLANS
TIE Pilgrim Fathers knew the ne-timable yalue of
gu, FRIEND and he sas many time msde the subject
Of special thai kseiving. II il set down by vera.
cous writers that lin the early history of Plymouth
Colony clans and fish were several times the prln-
" cpal .ource Of sus'ensice OF the people. The de-
won't ElceI Brewster, il is SAID supported himself
" and faurly many months without bread, thanking
God that they ui suck of the abundance of the
{" seas and OF the treasures hid in the sands Be-
fore discourse further Of the csm Of own ket-
tie and saucepan the q clam of the tropical seas
deserves a word of notice. The naturalist Ltmsrck
calls this gentleman Trifacua Gieas, AMI tells sone
curious stories OF his great size ana weight lie is
edible though rather overgrosn and he has his home
in the sheltered agoOns Of the Coral Islands where he
is found embedded in the coral. The annual himself
sometimes weighs 20 pounds, and The spes weigh
more than 500 pounds. Sir Joseph Banks once went
a clsmmiug and was lucky enough TO c.tch clam,
the shells Of which weighed the 2sj and the other
80 pounds.
Goodness gracious what IN astonisher. Think of
shel-ish big enough to afford roast anl billed, to
say nothing of steaks and chops.
"Boy, lie the clam ross, 10 fine co, p
"Clsm roast, Sir-yes, Sir; am afraid youl find it
little rare, ST.
"Wen, then, bring me clam outlet
The Chine &C. with their remark able ingenuity carve
great many Enthusiastically nseless articles ont OF
these huge shells; beads and bangles, and comph-
Gated toy and puzzles TO say nothiog If snu bottles
tops Of walking sticks, and similar tribes.
The soft clam comes to this market but in no great
abundance as il difficult of transportation, and the
demand is by means grea; as tor qushaugs. The
soft clam is found in great abundance on the various
islands in the immed vicinity Of New York, all
along the coast Of Ne E-Engand, and in many other
| places too numerous to specify. Those that are
brough, here are found within few miles Of the city
The soft clam is not only Of great importance as an
article Of food, but is largely used bait for the
larger fishes a. cod hsddock, &c. They lie together
in little groups about foot under the sand all
along Il at part Of the shore that il exposed at ow
water They are found copgregated in little families
Of from five ak TO dozen, that digging for soft
| clans is not unlike digging potatoes. The presence
| of each Of these nests is discovered by smooth
round hole about the size of tue little fuger, by means
Of which or6ce the clans communicate with the
water al high tide. How the gentleman clam Nth his
family gets into his snug quarters under the sand is
question Of difficult solution. The clam has neither
spade or pick crow nor has he discoverabe dig
sng apparatus Of any sort has he hands or fee,
DOR II he wi,hs An animal of active temperament, dis
ting uis bed for energy and industry; but for all this
for q workman to dig hole without tools, commend
| u to the soit-shel clam.
Is il perhaps cruel 20 mention here, in an article
that will meet the eyes Of thousands who only know
| clam by bearsay ard who have never seen the sea
| shore that Parsdsac institution known g. clam
| bake Dig your clans, set them up sdgewise In 3
synmetrical layer on the clear, clean ssnd-f you've
ever done it before you'll know that you'll want a
good many bushels, ana # you never have, the in
sIsn you get the fft taste you Il wish youd made
your pile twice big, and hadnt eaten anything for
! two days-then cover them with s .0lersbly thick
| LAYER Of dry sesweed, or drfwoOd, or any other
| quicky.burnng fuel Set il afre on the sindwsrd
side; then, when your fire s burnt out, your CLANS
are cooked and your dinner is ready further par
! ticulsrs are unnecessary.
"Quabsug" Is the popular name OF the hard clam,
which j. the bivslye mos. in Use IN AID about New
Yok. This .uphoniOus name u supposed 70 have
beer invented BY the Indians and II IL conjectured 70
have some occult significance, now lost ~ The world
forever. They are abundant on very great proper
ton Of re North American seacoas, and edible spe-
Gle. of the genus clam are known IN nearly all the
seas o. the globe.
The greater quantity Of quabsUgs tia. supply the
N.v-York market coae from Loog Island Sound and
the East RIVER also from the shoat waters about the
south sid- OF Long island. Oyster Bay, Cow
Bay, City l-and Fiush.rg Bay, and Little Neck Bay,
al Of vhich noted oyster localities, also produce
considerable number Of clans. Tuese are all called
East RSer clans They not Ike the soft-sneiled
varieties found in the ssDd a. low tide, save in eAc@p-
,opal cases, but are f.hed up from the bottom, N
water varying in depth fro ~ twenty i7et Iney
ere drsgseo up sith r,kss in the same manner ;hA'
o,sters AZ. taken The difference in favor between
,h,-e diF,ren, v,ri.ti-e is very eight and is imper-