The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-01-26
Observation-Disclosures
TOO LATE To CLASSIFY
BY RUSSELL KAY

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The habits and love life of the
Coquina may not sound like a
very interesting subject, but it
really is, and after Luke Gates of
Fl. Myers delved into the subject
and gave over six years of inten-
sive study to it, he decided to es-
tablish new enterprise and a
new industry: the harvesting of
Coquinas and the canning of CO.
lquina broth.
! While F1oridians are more or
less familiar with the Coquina,
tiniest. of shell fishes that are
tfound in great numbers on both
I our Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and
probably are the states oldest
product, most visitors and tour
lists know nothing about them and
trample them underfoot by the
millions with no knowledge of
the fact that when collected and
properly prepared they provide
one of the most delightful and
healthful food products imagin-
! able.
Another thing that few people
know is that Florida is one of the
few spots in the entire world
where Coquinas are found as
there are only about $50 miles of
seacoast on the globe where these
tiny sea creatures are found in
sufficient quantities for CONNER
cial consideration and the bulk of
| this area is in our state.
I Eight years ago Luke Gates,
| satisfied that it was practical to
| commercially pack a Coquina
/ product, developed a marvellous
| broth which he gave the trade
name of Ko-Keen-A and which he
| has been putting out with stead
lily increased demand from year
to year in spite of the fact that
limited finances prevented either
promotion OF rapid expansion.
Because of it's nutritious value
Ko-Keen-A broth is particularly
valuable for invalids. Hospitals
have proved one of the best mar
kets for the product while clubs,
better hotels and restaurants are
now beginning to serve it as
speciality Many retail stores now
stock it and this new product
gives promise of eventually be-
coming quite popular.
This amazing seafood delicacy's
chemical analysis shows it con-
tains calcium, phosphorus, iron,
iodine, protein, Magnesium, potas-
sium, copper and glycogen-a
substance resembling starch but
more easily assimilated, and not
fattening.
The Coquinas from which the
broth is made are very tiny, sell
dom reaching over 12-inch in
length. Their shape reminds one
of a diminutive butterfly with
! flat paired valves spreading like
wings. Nearly every hue of the
rainbow is reflected in their love-
ly pastel shades, which range
from blush white and buff back
grounds with radiating bands OF
contrasting color, giving plaid
effect, to delicate salmon pinks,
pale green's, yellows and laven-
derS.
At high tide coquinas will be
found two or three feet below
the extreme wash of the waves.
AS the tide GIBBS they emerge
from the sand at intervals of fiji
teen or twenty minutes and al
low the receding wave to carry
them a foot or so nearer the wa
ter's edge. Then before the next
incoming wave reaches them, with
a sudden protrusion of tongue
or mantle and a quick turn they
bury themselves with lightning
speed to a depth of from fifteen
to twenty minutes Then at what
appears to be a prearranged sig
nal, millions of them will pop UP
out of the sand and repeat the
operation by riding another wave
/ a foot or two nearer the waters
edge. ~
This procedure is repeated con-
tinually until about an hour be-
fore low tide, when they go into
the sand and remain buried al
this point until the tide reaches
the low-water mark. When the
tide turns and the first few in
coming waves wash over the
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