THE SHELLFISH INDUSTRY 305 



quickly grew to edible size. From this strange beginning 

 was elaborated the modem method of mussel cultivation on 

 stakes interwoven with twigs, which now extend for great 

 distances along the coast giving employment to the in- 

 habitants of several villages. This is known as the 

 " bouchot system," and the boucholeurs attend to their 

 mussels at low tide, going out to the bouchots in small 

 flat-bottomed boats called " aeons " which are usually 

 pushed along with the help of one foot which projects over 

 the side of the boat and on which is worn a large sea boot. 



Large bivalve molluscs known as Clams are extensively 

 collected in North America where they are considered a 

 great delicacy. There are two principal varieties eaten, 

 one known as the soft Clam {My a arenaria), and the other 

 known as the hard Clam {Venus mercenaria) ; the same, or 

 similar, animals are common on British shores but are 

 seldom eaten, except locally. The soft clam burrows in 

 mud or soft sand from which it has to be dug, and in a 

 favourable area the population is extremely dense. In 

 many parts of the north coast of America clam culture is a 

 flourishing industry, young or " seed " clams being planted 

 in favourable localities, from which the harvest is reaped 

 in due course. In this way the soft clam, originally an 

 Atlantic animal, has been introduced to the Californian 

 coast where it has found ideal conditions and has spread 

 over great areas round San Francisco Bay. The hard 

 clam never appears to form such dense colonies as does the 

 soft clam, and it has become comparatively scarce owing 

 to the reckless way in which it has been gathered, and it is 

 not yet cultivated to the same extent as the soft clam. 



Of all Molluscan shellfish the scallop, with its rounded 

 margins and radiating grooves, is perhaps the most beauti- 

 ful, and the shell has been used for ornamentation and as a 

 design since the beginnings of civilization (Plate 1 10) . Even 



