thl: museum. 



27 



the collection included considerable 

 over 3000 species and fully 1 5,000 

 shells. Further particulars in the ad- 

 vertising column. 



The Siphonof the Clam. 



A few notes on the habits and col- 

 lecting of the giant clam with elongat- 

 ed siphon found commonly at Long 

 Beach, Calif, where the art of clam- 

 ming is conducted in an interesting 

 manner at times, may be of interest 

 says C. F. Holder in the Scicntijii- 

 A mcricaii. Instead uf the single clam- 

 mer on the beach at low tide, often a 

 picturesque object from the dunes, we 

 see a man plowing a long furrow in 

 the sands, hoping in this way to throw 

 up hundreds of the succulent bivalves. 



To those Vvho frequent muddy shores 

 at low tide, the hole of the clam is a 

 familiar sight. Sometimes the latter 

 is discovered near the surface, ejecting 

 a spurt of water: and strange clicking, 

 sucking sounds, the dulcet voice of the 

 clam, have been heard by those who, 

 out of curiosity, frequent its haunts. 



One of the most interesting features 

 of all bivalves and of this clam in par- 

 ticular is the siphon, a singular con- 

 tinuation of the mantle, a fleshy chim- 

 ney, so to speak, which enables the 

 clam to rest at the bottom in security, 

 and throw up this extension, and 

 breathe and eat through it. The siph- 

 on in the cooked clam is a black, small 

 and retracted object, projecting but 

 slightly from the shell; it is known as 

 the head, a misnomer, as it is really 

 at the posterior opening of the shell, 

 and opposite the place where the head, 

 if there were one, should be. 



The siphon is a long, muscular, and 

 exceedingly tough tube, really an ex- 

 tension of the mantle which incloses 

 the clam, and, in this instance, divided 

 into two tubes. To fully understand 

 its office a glance at the internal econ- 

 omy of tMfe animal is necessary. 

 Opening a clam, we find ne.xt to the 

 shells a delicate gray mantle that en- 

 compasses the animal, so that it ap- 



pears to be a bag hokling the body of 

 the clam and protecting it. .At the 

 posterior end the mantle is developed 

 into the siphon, which contains two 

 tubes. Opening the shell wider, we 

 have the various parts before us. On 

 the lower side is a muscular organ 

 called the foot, that in some shells, as 

 the ra/:or clam, is an extraordinary 

 member. This foot in some species, 

 as the mussel, bears a remarkable 

 gland which secrets a fluid that, when 

 produced and exposed to the water, 

 becomes a mass of dark, horny fibers 

 that serve as anchor chains by which 

 the animal attaches itself to the rocks. 

 We find the mouth directly opposite 

 the so-called siphon, provided with a 

 pair of peculiar lips, leaf-like, which 

 have the faculty of aiding in sending 

 currents of water bearing food to the 

 mouth. We see the long coiled intes- 

 tine, the stomach, and liver, and in a 

 bag or sac a marvelous rod, clear as 

 crystal, seemingly distinct from the 

 body and without purpose, a backbone 

 unattached as it were, known as the 

 crystalline style; an organ that is well 

 known, but which is still a zoological 

 mystery. 



The heart is an interesting object, 

 the blood pouring from the gills into 

 the two auricles, then passing into the 

 median ventricle, which pumps it into 

 all parts of the body. The gills are 

 prominent objects, apparently, hang- 

 ing on either side, and made up of a 

 marvelously complicated series of 

 tubes. If in imagination we could fol- 

 low the blood current of the clam, we 

 should see it collecting in a large tube 

 at the base of the gi^ls, from which it 

 passes into the tubes and so to the 

 heart. During the passage throug the 

 tubes which makes up the gills the pro- 

 cess of breathing is accomplished, 

 which brings us to the consideration 

 of the long siphon of the clam. 



This singular organ has various 

 offices. It is like the trunk of an ele- 

 phant, inasmuch as it can be elongat- 

 ed to obtain food at a distance from 

 the body, illustrated by the clam at 



