OYSTER-INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 283 



The soft clam, similar in every respect to the Mya of the sands which 

 inhabits the seas of the north of Europe, and especially of Scotland, 

 multiplies so rapidly on the coast of New England, that, although they 

 are in constant demand, they do not seem to decrease in number. Al- 

 though found in abundance in the State of New York, their real home 

 is farther north, where they are found even as far as the shores of New- 

 foundland ; but they are nowhere so numerous as on the coasts of the 

 counties of Essex and Barnstable, in Massachusetts. Doctor Gould, in 

 his Natural History of Invertebrata, published in 1841, estimated the 

 quantity of soft clams consumed in Massachusetts at more than ten 

 thousand bushels ; but this amount, based probably upon the sales by 

 professed fishermen alone, gives no idea of the real rate of consumption, 

 since the laws accord to each citizeu of the State the right to catch as 

 many of the inollusks as he may need for his family. Not even an 

 proximate calculation is possible. It is very certain that Boston con- 

 sumes enormous quantities of soft clams in the excellent soups which 

 the Americans so well appreciate. The Myas also form one of the best 

 baits for the codfish, and every year Massachusetts salts down thousands 

 of barrels for the use of the fisheries on the banks of Newfoundland. 

 Freshly caught, they are sold on the wharves of Boston for 75 cents a 

 bushel. 



The round clam of large size is similar in taste to the Venus verru- 

 cosa, and, like it, is found in sheltered and shallow bays, where it buries 

 itself in the miry sand. As prolific as the Mya, it abounds upon that por- 

 tion of the coast of the United States lying south of Cape Cod, which 

 appears to be its most northern limit. It is met with, however, in the 

 vicinity of Cape Ann, but in that locality is not an article of commerce. 



The most important fisheries that I visited are those of the suburbs of 

 New York, of the great bay south of Long Island, of the bay of New 

 Haven, and of Cape Cod. A large quantity of round clams is consumed 

 in New York and Philadelphia during the summer months, taking, at 

 that season, the place of oysters, which are then considered by some as 

 not fit for food. They are excellent, either cooked or raw. 



Oysters from Virginia, Venus mercenaria, and Mya arenaria, are the 

 three species of bivalves which we are now endeavoring to acclimate 

 upon our shores, with the probability of complete success, at least with 

 the first two. It will probably be necessary to replace the third (of which 

 I imported only a few specimens) by a species inhabiting Scotland. It 

 will be quite easy to bring thence a sufficient number. 



When I hadp ersonally investigated the resources afforded the people 

 of the United States by the inollusks in question, I came to the conclu- 

 sion that the oyster ought to claim the especial attention of the imperial 

 marine; not that I do not attach an equal importance to the acclimation of 

 the Mya, and the Venus mercenaria, but since these two species develop 

 slowly, as I have learned from an examination of specimens at different 

 ages, that several years must elapse before they would be sufficiently 

 numerous to be used for food. Tne oyster, on the contrary? as prolific as 



