The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-11-06
THE RHODE ISLAND CLAM.
Its History from the Ocean Mud to the Table

i've to fifteen or twenty thousand peo-
pie in the course of few hours, is
q stupendous affair, and from the bot
tom up is work to be admired as a
whole and wondered at in its details,
and few of the thousands who in the
course of the summer season sit down
10 clam dinners appreciate the work
entailed in its preparation. First and
foremost, says The Providence Journal,
there is the clam Most of the CLANS
used at the shore resorts of Narragan-
sett bay come from the flats across the
bay from Nayatt, on the Conimicut
shore and on Green's island. As far
up as Pawtuxet and about Sab1n's
point the CLANS are considered 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
clam-gang wades out over the bed and
shovels up mud and CLAIMS and every
thing that comes along into big wire
baskets, which, when about full, are
"Sted out of the water, and a rinsing
ind shaking washes out the mud and
leaves the CLANS. Two men and boy
attend to each basket, one man shovel
ing in the mud, the second getting out
the CLANS, and the boy ''cuiling'' them.
Churning can only be done at 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 shovel
ing, he soon has to give up the job.
The suction on the shovels is tremen-
dous, 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; a
shovelful of mud is turned up at the
time, and the CLANS it contains are
raked out with the clam-hoe. Con-
sideration of either of the above meth
ods is sufficient for true understand
ing of the happiness of the clam at
high water. The clam ordinarily lies
in the mud from two to eighteen
inches; clam that would bury itself
much deeper than eighteen inches is
not to be looked upon with favor. 1t
is a wearing life that the clam dig gers
lead, working as they do five or six
hours at time in the water, and so
hard as to be constantly wet with per-
spiration.
Capt, J. Fl. Northrup, who has been
the captain of the Rocky point clam
gang for some eleven years, and has
probably handled more clans in his
lifetime than any other man in Rhode
Island, gave The Journal preventative
some interesting facts about the busi-
ness. He said that at Rocky point
alone last year some 1000 bushels of
CLAIMS for the bake alone were used.
His regular clam gang is seventeen or
elghteen men. but on big days it is
necessary to increase the force to fifty
or sixty men. This year the CLANS on
Green's island are only one year old,
and are ready for the bake--a remark
able case of clam growth. 1t appears
that when the clans are in great
abundance they grow very slowly, aud
those used last year from Green's
island were about three years old; but,
being few of them ''set' one year ago,
they grew large enough TO use very
''Do the CLANS ever run out before
the season is ended?" was asked the
'.Oh, yes; and then we have to look
else for them. Now, this
year, before the season is over we
shall probably have to leave cur pres
ent place and dig over in Coles river
and in the Kickcmuit river. Those
will be Massachusetts CLAIMS, of course,
but they are favored with Rhode
Island water. Already the CLANS on
Green's island are thinning out, and
on the 1st of August shall raise the
pay of my men, They get 81 cents Il
bushel now, and their pay will be
raised to ST. per bushel. Do expect
the CLAIMS will get run out entirely?
Well, not just yet, and at present the
prospect is something wonderful for
next ear. l never saw such u set OF
CLANS as are ali along the shore now;
if they all lived there would be enough
CLAIMS to supply the world next year.
Just come with me and take look"
The tide was about half in, and the
mud-f1ats were scattered over with all
sorts of refuse, shells, and weeds. The
captain bent down and picked up what
looked at first like minute, broken
off bit of clam-shell, but as 1t lay in
his hand. a closer look revealed it a per-
clam-shell, q beautiful
object, not as big as baby's little
inger nail, as white as alabaster, and
The light showing pink through its
del cate substance. The least pres
sure would have crushed it to almost
invisible atoms. That's 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 whele shore is
covered with them, and in all my ex-
perience of thirty years l never saw
such set They are SO thick that
the prospect is they will not grow fast,
and it will take two, or three years for
them to get big enough unless they
die off. A handful OF these will make
moren bushel when they are grown
up" A careful look over the muddy
beach revealed there beautiful minia-
ture clam-shells yet without trace of
meat within them in hundreds, and a
would have shown thou
sands where the few were visible to
the naked eye.
AS the men are paid for their dig
ging by the bushel, it is evident that
on skill and hard work depends the