Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1884-05-14
HUah CLANS AND OYSTERS.
Single Oyaters Weighing Three Pound
Single CLAIMS that Five Men Lusge
Into a Dining Room


into a Dining Room.
Speaking about shells, now," said
nm eminent conchologist to a New
York Sun reporter, holding up mag
nilicent orange shell as if it were a
gem, and breathing upon it preparato-
ry to polishing it with chamois skin,
reminds me Of Il practical joke that
lome friends Of mine got up little
while ago. You see we had club of
shell men and met in each others
houses once a week, and once year
we gave dinner, to which each MEN,
ber was allowed to invite friend.
Two of the guests at the last dinner
were Englishmen, and as one of them
had expressed desire to see something
Of American oysters, and the other had
Inquired about clam bahes, it was de-
cided to give them surprise, and to
say we did so don't express it. We
met at members house up town and
about twenty sat down to dinner, the
two Englishmen being seated on the
right and left of the President, as
sober-faced a professional wag as ever
graced gown After the blessing,
which was delivered in the Sioux Ian
guagc, two walters came in, bearing a
meat platter of the largest size, and
lifting it with the greatest difficulty
placed it in front Of one of the English
men, whose eyes began to open as he
saw that the dish contained six oysters
on the half shell that looked as though
they would weigh three pounds apiece.
They were brought from Old Point for
the occasion, you seo, and were what
are called coons-.-n nearly a foot in length,
and of gigantic proportions. They
projected from the dish like great
blocks of stone, and a small piece of
one would have been enough for two
men for a whole meal.
"'We generally begin on six of
these said the President. They're a
little undersized, but it's late in the
season.
"'Those are not all for me?' said the
Mortified Briton.
"Ccrtainly,' replied the President
ard if you want larger ones say the
word
"Fnally the victim lifted the grea
morscl that looked like an underon'
ham, got it half way to his mouth, ant
then with a shudder dropped it. 'Goot
heavens he said, you don't mean tt
say you eat six of these? can't g
one. You see haven't been educated
3 up to it. must give it up
"IIe was urged politely, but as
was an impossibility, the oysters wer'
refused, and the next course wa
brought on, every one looking as sobe
as q funeral. tell you it would hay
made a horse laugh to have seen thos
men look as the walters came in. Th
course was baked clans, Ia Rhod
Island, and, as before, it took two me
!, to bring in each plate, piled with clam
SO enormous that it fairly took one
, breath away, and the Englishme
. looked on in downright horror. b
actual measurement each clam wa
nearly foot in length, and nearly a
weighed more than six pounds. B
the time a half dozen plates wer
b brought in the table was about covered
The victims sat there in helples
amazement, while the rest pretended
: pitch in. Did they eat them? shoul
say not. Nobody noticed them, an
> finally, when they had eaten son
> small clans that had been tucked
for their benefit, the monsters wei
o cleared away. The next course WI
;, called devilled tridacna, and one Of tt
10 guests being urged to try some, a m
ment later five walters came struggllr
=, through u door with an enormous ha
. shell of clam, that actually weight
- $50 pounds. This was lifted to tt
table and put before the now thoroug
=, " demoralizel EngliShmen, wi
- looked so utterly dumbfounded that Il
+ whole party broke into a roar of laug
~ ter. They then saw they were the vi
" " tins of joke, and took it well.
~ "But how about those big clam
10 Were they made up?"asked the visit(
10 "Not bit of it." was the rep
y "They were, l guess, the first of Il
u newly discovered edible clans of t
y Pacific that had ever been brought
"- New York or the East They ha
been known for. some time, Dut not
u the general public. A natural
travelling some months ago near Pug
Sound found that the geoducks,
= they were called, were considered
IT. the soft clam race. Just think Of
,r' common soft clam about a foot
ch length containing a mass of flesh weig
of ing more than six pounds. In ia:
ry they don't seem like ordinary clan
nd but rather like crab boiled, or
III, Southern salt water crawllsh or WI
nd lobster. When you go claiming
id these giants you have a days VIC
lat ahead of you. In the first place y
it. can get at them only at certain tin
Ou where there is extreme low tide, a
W, then you want n gang Of men or
Ter dredging machine to dig them out. I
ed scientific name for them is Glyciniel
IN. and it is said they are so fine that
hs establishment for canning them is
nd Do started. One weighing seven
ee eight pounds would fill up sixteen h;
ut ,,ouna oons Attempts are also bel