OF MASSACHUSETTS. 49 



success of this communal effort, which is the first step by the people 

 toward quahaug farming. 



The quahauger needs only to spread his catch on the surface, and 

 within two tides the quahaugs will have buried themselves in the sand. 

 Here they will remain, with no danger of moving away, as the quahaug 

 moves but little. The quahauger loses nothing by this replanting, as 

 not only do the quahaugs remain in a healthy condition, but even grow 

 in their new environment. 



The result of this communal attempt at quahaug culture is beneficial. 

 While the market price for " little necks " is almost always steady, the 

 price of the larger quahaugs fluctuates considerably, and the market 

 often becomes " glutted." This would naturally result in a severe loss 

 to the quahauger if he were forced to keep shipping at a low price. As 

 it is, the fortunate quahauger who possesses such a grant merely re- 

 plants his daily catch until the market prices rise to their proper level. 

 An additional advantage is gained by the quahauger, who at the end of 

 the season has his grant well stocked, as higher prices are then offered. 

 As many as 1,000 barrels are often held this way at the end of the 

 season. 



Food Value. — See food value table in scallop report. 



Uses. — Besides its many uses as a food, raw, cooked and canned, the 

 quahaug is of little importance in Massachusetts. 



(1) For bait the soft clam (Mya arenaria) is generally preferred, 

 and but few quahaugs are used for this purpose. 



(2) The shell was once prized by the Indians for their wampum; now 

 it is occasionally used for ornamental purposes. 



(3) Oystennen use it for cultch when they can get nothing better; 

 though more fragile shells are usually preferred, so that the masses of 

 oyster " set " can be easily broken apart. 



(4) Shell roads are occasionally made from quahaug shells. Pos- 

 sibly lime could be profitably obtained. 



History of Quahaug Industry in Massachusetts. 



South of Plymouth harbor quahaugs have always been plentiful along 

 the shores of Cape Cod, Buzzards Bay and the islands of Nantucket and 

 Martha's Vineyard. Frequent shell heaps show that the Indians were 

 accustomed to use this mollusk as a food, and even indulged in an occa- 

 sional clam bake. Colonial records show us that the early colonists 

 were not slow in learning to " tread out " this mollusk from the mud 

 flats. The shells of the quahaug were much prized by the Indians for 

 wampum beads, becaYise of their purplish color. 



Although reckoned inferior by many to the soft clam (Mya arenaria), 

 the quahaug was dug for home consumption for years in Massachusetts, 

 and but little attempt was made to put it on the market. The com- 

 mercial quahaug fishery started on Cape Cod, about the first of the 

 nineteenth century, growing in extent until about I860. From 1860 



