OYSTER-INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 319 



found in abundance on the shores of Dunkirk, especially in the fish 

 preserves. To determine the question whether it and those of America 

 were the same, M. Burkardt and myself endeavored to import some 

 from the United States, but without success. I sent for several dozen 

 of them by the captain of one of the steamers which ply between Havre 

 and Dunkirk. 



The specimens sent me on the 30th of June, 1863, were of all sizes, 

 and one of them measured a little over three inches in length by two in 

 width. I recognized at a glance the soft clams of New England. There 

 were the shells separated at the ends, with the same twisted conforma- 

 tion, through the upper opening of which the animal projected a long 

 muscular siphon, which it could contract so as to draw it entirely within 

 the valves ; the same form and size of the cardinal tooth, the exterior 

 color of the shells, of a dun white, in some parts bluish j in short, these 

 shell-fish were, in every respect, identical with those of the United 

 States. Carrying my examination still further, I ate the Myas of Dunkirk 

 in a raw condition, as well as cooked in various ways, and found them 

 excellent. As they came from a basin where the sea-water was not 

 sufficiently renewed, they were somewhat less delicate than those of the 

 banks in the bay of Boston ; but if transplanted into a more favorable 

 medium, they would undoubtedly rival the latter. 



The importance of the fact that the soft clam of North America lives 

 in the latitude of Dunkirk is evident, as it shows the possibility, I may 

 say the certainty, of realizing Professor Agassiz's programme. Once 

 propagated in several localities on the coast, this mollusk will furnish 

 a bait without rival for the coast fisheries; and when salted, it might 

 be used for the cod-fishery of Iceland and Newfoundland. "We know that 

 at certain periods of the year the fishermen along the coast find it dif- 

 ficult to obtain bait ; for instance, the fishermen of Havre, who, at the 

 season of fishing for " gross-yeux," sometimes pay five centimes apiece 

 for small cuttle-fishes, and cannot always obtain enough even at that 

 price. The Mya arenaria would supply this want. 



.To plant the exposed sands of Britain and Normandy with these shell- 

 fish would be truly a benefit to the maritime population. If not found 

 there, it is probably owing to the shifting nature of the banks on the 

 shores of Dunkirk, and also the rapidity of the currents. In short, the 

 hydrographic conditions are such that, left to themselves, the Mya 

 arenaria is not able to traverse the spaces which separate it from 

 other portions of the coast, where, if transplanted by the hand of man, 

 it would thrive wonderfully well. 



The experiment might at least be tried j nor would it cost much, as, 

 the locality once chosen, it would require only a few days to transport 

 a sufficient number of niollusks. One of the steamers guarding the 

 fisheries of the first maritime district might be employed for the 

 purpose. 



