OYSTER-INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 315 



least in places where the action of the waves is not sufficiently strong 

 to change the character of the banks. This fact I observed several 

 times at Nahant, the summer residence of a portion of the wealthy in- 

 habitants of Boston. On all the eastern shore of this quasi-island, 

 washed by the open sea, not a single soft-clam is to be found; 

 while on the western, where the water is comparatively calm, they ex- 

 ist in great numbers. They are taken by means of a spade, at low- tide, 

 when the banks are left uncovered. Their hiding-place is betrayed by 

 a number of small holes, through which they eject a stream of water 

 when the sand is pressed down upon them, or shaken by the spade. 

 This habit has won for them a very descriptive, although not very poet- 

 ical name. On some parts of Long Island Sound hogs go down upon 

 the banks at low water to hunt for clams, of which they are very fond. 

 They manifest great sagacity in finding them, and know exactly when 

 to leave, so as not to be caught by the returning tide. 



The consumption of these mollusks is considerable during every sea- 

 son, but especially in summer, along the entire coast of the Northern 

 States, from New York to Maine; but nowhere is it so great as at Boston. 



In most places .regular fishermen sell the clams in their natural con- 

 dition ; but in some localities, like New York, they are generally taken 

 from the shell and sent to market in packages of twenty-five, which are 

 sold, on an average, at 75 cents a huudred. 



The merchants mix pieces of ice with the clams in summer to keep 

 them fresh ; in winter, of course, this precaution is unnecessary. 



The extent of the fisheries throughout the year depends upon the rate 

 of consumption. 



The people of the United States use clams in a variety of culinary 

 preparations, the most popular of which is, undoubtedly, a kind of soup 

 especially e steemed in Boston.* 



*In Rhode Island and Massachusetts clams serve as a pretext for fetes of a very pe- 

 culiar kind, called clam-bakes. The following description is taken from a work on 

 natural history published in the United States : 



"The clam-bakes which take place every year near Bristol, as well as in several other 

 localities of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, have their origin in an old Indian cus- 

 tom. 



" The aborigines of these States were accustomed to assemble in great numbers every 

 year for a feast consisting of clams and green corn cooked together with sea-weed* 

 The modern clam-bake is an improvement on the old one. A circular hearth or bed 

 is first made in the sand, with large flat stones, upon which a fire is kept up until they 

 are red hot. A layer of sea-weed is then placed upon them, and upon the sea-weed a 

 layer of clams about three inches thick covered by more sea-weed ; then follows a 

 layer of green corn in the husk, intermixed with potatoes and other vegetables ; 

 then a layer of poultry cooked and seasoned ; then more sea-weed ; then fish and 

 lobsters, again covered by sea-weed. This arrangement is continued according to the 

 number of persons to take part in tho feast, and when the pile is complete it is covered 

 with a linen cloth to prevent the steam from escaping. When the whole is cooked 

 each one helps himself without ceremony. These feasts are delicious beyond descrip- 

 tion, and it is said no one is ever made ill by them. In former times the most renowned 

 warriors came from afar to take part in them, and now they are attended by persons 

 of the highest social standing, sometimes to the number of several hundreds. 



