OF MASSACHUSETTS. 179 



and a short handle. The set of this handle is a matter of choice with 

 the individual clammers, some preferring a sharp, acute angle, and 

 others a right angle. This style of clam hoe is best suited for the hard, 

 tenacious clam flats of the north shore. At Essex spading forks are 

 used for clamming, but not as extensively as the hooker. For sand 

 digging the forks are said to be better, while for mud digging the 

 hooker is preferred. 



Outfit of a Clammer. — The outfit of a clammer does not require, 

 much outlay of capital. A skiff or dory, one or two clam hoes and three 

 or four clam baskets complete the list. Occasionally, as at Ipswich, 

 where the clam grounds are widely scattered, power dories are used, 

 and this necessitates the investment of considerable capital; but the 

 investment of the average clammer does not exceed $26. Personal 

 apparel, such as oilskins and boots, are not considered under this head. 



Clamming Outfit. 



Skiff dory, $22 00 



Two clam diggers, 1 50 



Four clam baskets, 2 00 



Total, $25 50 



The boats most often used by the north shore clammers are called 

 " skiff dories," and in construction are between a dory and a skiff. 

 These .boats are especially adapted for use in rivers. 



Marketing. — Clams are shipped to market either in the shell or 

 " shucked out." Two rules are followed by the clammers in making 

 this distinction: (1) small clams, or "steamers," are shipped in the 

 shell, especially during the summer months, while the large clams are 

 "shucked;" (2) the fine-appearing sand clam is usually sold in the 

 shell, while the unprepossessing mud clam is shucked, i.e., the shell 

 and the external covering of the siphon or neck are removed. This 

 causes on the north shore a division by locality. The Ipswich and 

 Essex clams, except for a few individual orders, are mostly shipped to 

 market in the shell, while the Annisquam River and Newburyport 

 clams are usually shucked in the winter. Little if any shucking is done 

 by the south shore clammers. 



Shucking almost doubles the value, as a bushel of clams, worth in the 

 shell 75 cents, will furnish, when soaked, about 10 quarts of shucked 

 clams, which bring about 50 cents per gallon, or a total of $1.25 when 

 marketed. The shucked clams are put through a process of soaking in 

 the same way the scallop " eyes " are treated before marketing. They 

 absorb a sufficient quantity of fresh water, after soaking six hours, to 

 increase their bulk about one-third and give a plump appearance to 

 the clams. 



While many clammers do not soak their clams, it seems to be a 

 universal tendency, wherever clams are shucked, to gain by this method. 



