, 1885-09-24
THE RHODE ISLAND CLAM.


resorts OF N"arraBaISett pay come from
the flats across the bay from Nayatt.
on the Conimicut shore and on Green's
island. As far up n Pawtuxet and
about Sabin's point the clans are con.
sidcred hard, glue-shelled, and gritty
but across at Bullock's point they are
good, and the Bullock's pointers get
their clans right at home. Two-thirds
of the clans are got by "churning -
The Changing wades out over the bed
and shoyels up mud and clans and cy-
erything that comes along into big wire
baskets, which, when about full, are
lifted out of the water, and a rlnsing
and shaking washes out the mud and
leaves the CLANS. Two men and n
boy attend to each basket, one man
shoveling in the mud, the second get
ting out the clans, and the boy ''cull-
ing them. Churning can only be done
Mt about half-tide, when the water Is
two or three feet deep, as, by the time
the workman has to put his head under
water when he bends over at %shoveling,
he o o has TO give up the Job. The
suction on the shovels is tremendous,
and they are made exceptionally strong.
When there are good tides, on the
full and change of the moon, the clans
may be raked out after the manner of
non-professional diggers; n shoyelful of
mud is turned up at the time, and the
clans it contains are raked out with the
clam-hoe. Consideration of either Of
the above methods is sufficient for a truo
understanding OF the happiness Of the
clam in high water. The clam ordinar
lily lies in the mud from two TO eighteen
inches; a clam that would bury itself
much deeper han eighteen inches is not
10 be looked upon with favor. II is "a
wearing life that the clam diggers lead
working as they do five or six hours at
q time in the water, and so hard rs to
be constantly wet with perspiration.
The tide was about half in, and tho
mud-fiat we're scattered oyef with all
sorts of refuse, shells and weeds. The
captain bent down and picked up what
looked at first like n minute, broken off
bit OF olam-shell, but as il lay in his
hand, n closer look revealed il n per
fectly formed clam shell, a beautiful oh
ject, not rs big as n babys little finger
nail, rs white as alabaster, and the light
showing pink through its delicate sub
stance. The least pressure would have
crushed il to almost invisible atoms.
That's a clam" said the captain,
that's maybe three weeks old and
you'll find millions about. here.
As quick as they get any size they
will begin to burrow down into the
mud. The whole shore IS covered with
them, and in all my experience Of thirty
years | never saw such a set. They
are so thick that the prospect is they
will not grow fast, and it will take two
FOR three years for them to get big
enough unless they die off. "A handful
of these will make more'n q bushel when
they arc grown up A careful look
over tho muddy beach revealed these
beautiful miniature clam-shells yet
without u trace of meat within them in
hundreds, and a microscope would have
shown thousands where the few were
visible TO the naked eye.
Well, once the clans are out of the
water and in the boats, they are towed
to shore, where they are piled in a shed,
picked over, and carefully washed. Five
or six men arc employed constantly at
this work at the larger resorts. The
preparation of the pile on which the
CLANS are to bake is the next step, and
this is done on much the same plan
everywhere; n pile Of wood is laid, on
every layer of which cobblestones are
placed, and the burning of the wood
heats the stones and makes them ready
to have the clans thrown on top.
At Rocky point. instead of build
ing the pile on the ground it is laid on q
surface of stone cemented with fire clay,
and some such plan has been adopted
in other places. This allows of thu
stones being pulled off after the wood /.
consumed and the plate swept clear OF
ashes, when the stones are piled on il
again. Over the hot stones q mass of
rockweed is piled, and the sight OF a line
of walters with tubs of clans between
them running at breakneck speed for
the pile, forming a circle about it, and
employing the tubs on top with concerted
effort, is familiar. Over tho whole the
canvas is laid, seaweed is heaped, and a
fragrant steam arises from the pile.
Twenty minutes later the CLANS arc
ready for the table.
The Rhode Island clam is, alas, going
out of use for chowder. IL has toe
much grit in its belly, and when it is
cut up it makes n chowder not agreeable
10 look nj; and so about two.thirds OF
the chowder CLANS are quahaugs - so u
express il. Old fashioned people say
they like the longneck clans better, but
the Quahaugs are white and clean and
palatable thus prepared, and of lat,
years have como into general use. II
the visitor to Rocky point should chanc,
10 stroll down toward the beach behinC
the laundry house he would discover
near the water an old shed. AgainsI
the side facing him is n hugo pile o.
quahaug shells, and through a sli
that runs the whole length o
the shed quahaug shells are lyinl
IA in a way at once mysterious and
startling Hut behind tho opening is O
bench, and at the bench are three o.
four men opening quahaugs for chow
der, ''cut-outs' they call them, and
few of the largest clans are also Gu
out for the same purpose. The qua
haugs como from Edgartown, and Z
schooner brings 2O0 or 800 bushels o
them every fortnight, which ar,
emptied IN n Shed where the water con
stantly flows over them. Quahaug
grow close TO the surface Of the mu,
and are raked out the same as oysters
or may be- "trod out" at low water
Three hundred gallons Of chowdc
make an average course for n good-sizet
excursion party. Patent clam chopper
chew longnecks and h%ttlenecks int
tidbits in no time to put into the cauld
ron.
The shells are about the only thing
left after a well organized excursion
party has attacked a clam-bake. Thcsi
are oarted of and dumped on som
stretch Of waste land. The aceumula
ted shells of a season OF some eight.
days is considerable. They lie in tn
sun until the following spring. Thel
they are spread over the roads. AM
prime roads they do make The qua
haug shells make the best, and sr
spread about the cottagers' highway
and IN he more select localities.
You may not be aware of it, but it's
fact, that many of the medicines recon