174 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



(Dutch) ; fan shell, squinn, scallop, and escallop (English) ; and clam 

 (Scotch). Scallop and escallop seem to be the only names commonly 

 used in this country. Besides fuinisliino- a highly prized article 

 of food, the scallop has provided drinking cups, cooking dishes, 

 lamps, and ornaments. 



In America the scallop Avas eaten by man long before the arrival 

 of Europeans, as evidenced by great numbers of scallop shells in 

 kitchen middens, or heaps of shells and other nonperishable kitchen 

 refuse. The Indians not only appreciated the scallop as an article 

 of food but also chose the shell for use in various ceremonies. 



It is to be supposed that local consumption by white people in 

 North Carolina began with the settling of the region in which scal- 

 lops are found. Later, as the State grew and prospered, Beaufort, 

 in the heart of the scallop country, became a favored summer resort 

 for the people of the State. Not the least of the charms for inland 

 folk Avas the sea food, among which the scallop (doubtless owing 

 partly to the dread of summer oysters) was prominent. Thus, a 

 considerable local summer trade, probably at its height about 1860, 

 was developed. Although this Avas changed greatly by the Avar, 

 scallop fishing at Beaufort and Morehead City Avas for many years 

 decidedly a local summer industr3^ Scallops Avere raked on near-by 

 flats and peddled about toAvn. Until recent times the standard price 

 was 10 cents per quart. 



Shipment of scallops seems to have begun in the seventies from 

 Morehead City, then at railhead. George N. Ives, from the region 

 in Connecticut in which a substantial .scallop industry first developed, 

 is credited by G. J. Arthur not only with bringing to North Carolina 

 the first of the type of boat famous as the New Haven or Connecticut 

 '' sharpie," but also Avith starting the North Carolina scallop-shipping 

 industry. He is said to have bought them by the bushel and paid 

 for the opening, instead of buying the scallop meats by the gallon, 

 a custom generally establishe;! by 1897. Shipments were made to 

 New York and possibly to Philadelphia and other northern points. 

 Then, as now, shipment Avithin the State was negligible. Ingersoll 

 states that shipment reached its height in 1876-77, when .several 

 thousand gallons Avere sent to northern markets, and then nearly 

 stopped. This about coincides with the occurrence of the "August 

 storm " of 1879, described as a southeastern gale of a A'iolence not 

 knoAvn befoie or since in the region. It is supposed to haA^e de- 

 stroyed scallops and scallop grounds so that recovery was a matter 

 of years. 



At some time in the eighties J. H. Potter, of Beaufort, began 

 sending scallop meats by the barrel, iced, to New York. Thereafter 

 there Avere periods of activity, but apparently the business was not 

 sufficiently Avell organized to be well maintained. If a shipment 

 brought a sufficient price, it Avould be repeated, perhaps on a larger 

 scale; if a poor price, no further shipments were made for a time. 

 A similar state of affairs seems to have continued till about 1912 or 

 1913, when the modern industry began to develop and to spread to 

 include all scallop-producing areas. 



