OYSTER-INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 31 



n 



in putting them in boxes, in canning them, repacking them, &c. It is 

 a custom in Baltimore to pack cases of raw oysters in boxes three feet 

 and a half long by seventeen inches in width and only eight in depth. 

 The cases are handled with great ease, and a space is left vacant in the 

 middle for ice. 



Mr. Maltby, a dealer who has made a fortune in the oyster-trade, 

 informed me that, during the warm season, the boxes were placed in ice- 

 wagons, so arranged that a current of cold air might pass continually 

 over them. 



The packing of raw oysters, taken from the shell and canned, forms 

 one of the most lucrative industries of Baltimore. No other branch of 

 commerce has a more substantial basis, since the demand for the article 

 is constant, and the sales are ordinarily for cash. The importance of 

 the business, upon which I cannot dwell too strongly, is one of the most 

 convincing proofs of the influence that ostriculture, conducted on a grand 

 scale, may have upon the wealth of a nation. Two or three thousand 

 sailors man the boats, which provide the establishments with oysters; 

 two thousand persons of both sexes are employed in opening the oys- 

 ters; two hundred men in packing and closing the cans and in making 

 the outside boxes; while three hundred tinners are required for the man- 

 ufacture of the cans. It is probable that the value of the tin and solder 

 used annually amounts to $150,000, while the number of feet of pine 

 wood used for boxes must be nearly a million. 



CHAPTER FOUETH. 



GENERAL VIEWS UPON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MARKET-CLAMS. 



Soft clam (Mya arenaria.) — The soft clam is, next to the oyster, the 

 most important bivalve of the American coast, whether we view it as a 

 means of public sustenance, or as an addition to the fishing industry of 

 the country. Its great abundance on the coasts where it is found, the 

 good market it commands, the ease with which it can be obtained from 

 the banks at low tide, all render it a most valuable source of sustenance 

 for the poorer classes.* 



Its principal characteristics are the following: the shell is oval, equi- 

 valve, almost equilateral, thin, open at both ends, and especially at the 

 posterior part, which can never be closed on account of the conformation 

 of the valves. The exterior surface is rugose, and marked in places by 

 the raised lines of growth. Its general color is a chalky white, some- 

 times a blue black, more or less deep. The left valve has a cardinal 

 tooth, as broad as it is long. There are two muscular impressions, and 

 the ligament which unites the two valves is internal. In specimens of 

 large size the siphons are nearly two inches long. 



* In some places this inollusk has retained its ancient Indian name of Maninose. 



