New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-10-09
DISAPPEARING MOLLUSkS.
THE CLAM. QUAHAUG AND scALLof AXE
GROWING SCARCE.
From The Providence Journal.

oysters mas heen gOlnE on 1T Su " ~
the coasts Of Massachusetts and kEode is'anu'
and in Long Island Sound. tina, attempts ai =
being made to repair the mischief d! ar'',o'a.
propagation. The mOusks referred I" are l''i's
clans, round clans and scallops. some ANY,
on the subject has been given by the l 'teo
States Fish Commission, and results qu,'c re-
markable have already been accomplished
For example, at Essex, Mass. NUMBER vi
lots OF one acre were staked off few years ago
on the flats Of the Essex River. and were l"t %
various persons at a nominal rental OF - PER
acre for term Of years. Long clans oi stnal,
size. obtained from natural beds, were piaHteu
on these unpro1uctivc flats. five hundred bush
els to an acre. The lots in question now yleld
twenty-five hundred barrels per annurn. IL Is
found that the cultivated clans are as large as
the best ones OF natural growth. and more UNI.
form in size they fetch 81 10 barrel against
81 30 for ordinary clans. as sold by the pack
ers. One acre Of flats. well seeded, is worth
81 900 to-day. 1t is believed that the industry
can be prosecuted on extensive scale ana
with large profit. long clam attans a size OF
two inches in a year. 49,
The long clam, or squirt clam. familiar
to picnic parties at the seashore. is otherwise
known as the soft" clam. and to the English as
the 'saudgaper or 'old maid" II is an animal
of very vide distribution occurring all the way
from South Carolina to The Arctic Ocean. where
seals warus, polar bears and Arctic foxes feed
upon it 1t is nowhere 50 abundan. as on the
New England coast, however Successful at
tcmpts have been made to plant clans i'll the
neghhorhood OF Bridgeport. flats being ploughed
and seeded with small ones. Three years al
ter this done the areas planted were az
full "a q colander of the holes which mark the
burrows of the mOllusks. Digging down. the
CLANS were found shoulder to shoulder AND
actually piled on top of each other Such
bank is very remunerative. yielding an interest,"
as regular az a field of corn or tobacco. the
income obtained is much greater per acre, ana
the land never has 20 lie falloW.
If one examines soft clam freshly captured
there will be found projecting from one enc
a backish wrinkled lump. which. on being irr
tated quickly withdraws, throwing out at tho
same time little stream Of water But put
this forbiddinG looking creature in swallow
pan of fresh sca-water and leave II ie"
hours. until t RECEIVERS confidence. Then tn
blackcncd tube gradually protrudes from tn
shell and slowly extends itself to a length o
several inches. Now il il easy to see that III,
organ has two openings at the end, beautifully
frnged with APPENDICES like little feelers. Tn
organ really consists os two tubes. leading Il
the body OF the clam, and If you observe th'
openings closely you Will see current Ut wate
flowing into one Of them and another c-rren
flowing as steadily out OF tie other.
HOW THE SOFT CLAM LIVES.
| As the soft clam lies in his burrow he pushes
| his tubes up into the sea-Watcr above an(
sucks in stream which bears not only tn
microscopic particles of organic matter tina
! serve as his food, but also the oxygen which n
| requires Flowing out. the cure mt carries will
! it the cxCremen;itious matter. With this ami
! NAL it is never long between drinks, Whic
! may account Tor the adagc Happy as
| clam"
! In the spring the eggs Of the clam issue int
the cavities of the outer gills. Here they develo
/ and form little papery shells Al this stage tn
/ young clans are just about big enough to b
seen with the naked eye. Presently they are dis
| charged into the water end by this time the
| are ready TO take care of themselves. anchOrin
! themselves to the bottom by slender thread
and holding on against the current. Soft clam
! betray their hiding places to the knowing hunte
! by emitting occasional squlrts OF water VINE
the retiring tide has left their banks bare. Hog
7 hcfn dpVDur quantities
| them. They are n widely distributed and irnp0r
tant food product, and it would be great pit
| II this element of marine wealth and industr
! should be wiped out.
II may be that some day method will be de
vised for prOpagating the round clam, or "dua
haug" which Is likewise threatened with extinc
ton along the ew-England coast and else
where It's mode of breeding is the same as tina
of the soft clam. Naturalists say that tn
round clam has a fair gift of locomotion and ca
! travel pretty fast when it wants to. IT attain
| a middle size. so as TO be fit for eating, in abou
five years Long before Columbus came to Amer
lea the Indians had found a great many use
for the Quahaug. They employed the shells q
utensils and implements. such as arrow point
paint holders and spoons. The purple eye an
edge they utilized for wampum ard in the mar
ufacture of war belts and insignia of authorlt!
The meats were dried for trade purposes. HIS
! torians aver that tho coast tribes conquered d
| the Six Nations were obliged to pay regula
| tribute in clans. which were dried in the su
! on pieces of bark. Some years ago factor
| was started in ew-Jersey for preserving clam
and oysters by drying and granulation. 1t
said that the desiccated clam meats thus pt
up were excellent for soups and chowders, BIT
| for some reason they did not find FAVOR and Tn
| industry was abandoned
Many people are very fond OF scallops. AZ ma
be Judged from the fact that nearly 10000 ga
Ions Of the meats were used in New-York an
Brooklyn in 1897. OF course. these bivalve
likewise are hunted persstently and me pros
pect Is that before very long comparatively fe
OF them Will be left. 1t has been suggeste