FISHEEIES OF KEY WEST. 67 



and ready for shipment. The various methods of procedure will 

 be briefi}' described. 



When the clams are received aboard the run boat from the dredge 

 they are deposited in a heap on deck, and the baskets are retained 

 by the dredge. The run boat generally starts on the homeward jour- 

 ney about midnight, arriving in the vicinity of Marco about dsij- 

 break, and delivery is made early in the morning. A reserve supply 

 of clams is rarely kept on hand, and the cannery, therefore, depends 

 upon a fresh supply from day to day. 



The population of Marco in 1919 was about 150 persons, and aside 

 from a small amount of fishing and hunting the cannery furnished 

 the only means of support to the inhabitants. Because of weather 

 conditions and an occasional breakdown of the dredge it is never 

 certain on which days work will be available, and for this reason as 

 soon as a load of clams is sighted from the village the factory whis- 

 tle is blown to notify the people that they should come to work. 



AMien the run boat arrives at the receiving dock, the clams are 

 unloaded as quickly as possible. This is accomplished with very lit- 

 tle labor by an endless-chain bucket convej'or. The clams are shov- 

 eled into a short, heavy, iron chute, which reaches the deck of the 

 boat and is adjustable to the stage of the tide. The clams are gath- 

 ered up by elongate V-shaped iron buckets and are carried overhead, 

 about 10 feet above the dock, where they are deposited in a large 

 wire-meshed cylinder set at an incline. The cylinder revolves in a 

 tank of water and finally carries the cleansed clams to a chute that 

 empties into iron cars similar to those used in oyster canneries. The 

 dock is covered with a series of tracks and is equipped with a turn- 

 table that makes it possible to turn the cars at right angles when 

 necessary. 



Three cars at a time, loaded with clams, are pushed into the in- 

 terior of the cannery and placed inside a large iron cylinder. The 

 cylinder is then sealed by a massive iron door fitted with heavy lugs, 

 after which the steam is turned on in order to kill the clams. The 

 clams die quickly and the shells open and lose their liquid contents, 

 which collects at the bottom of the long cylinder and is carried away 

 by an underground porcelain-lined pipe, emptying into a large gal- 

 vanized-iron tank set below the floor's level in another room. The 

 liquid is collected from this tank for use in the various products. 



After the clams are killed the cars containing them are rolled out 

 of the cylinder. The meats are then removed from the shells, put 

 into buckets, and dumped into a large spray and washing machine, 

 which is used to thoroughly cleanse them of grit. The washer con- 

 sists of a large cylinder built of heavy mesh galvanized wire, which 

 revolves in a tank of water, and it also has a spiral track that 

 gradually carries the clams to the exit. Upon leaving the washer the 

 clams are deposited through a short chute upon a wide rubber belt 

 conveyor, which looks like a table with a moving top. Four operators 

 on each side of the conveyor sort the clams. Some of them pick out 

 the small white clams while others select the large dark ones. The 

 sorted clams are thrust into a short offset spout, placed beside each 

 operator, through which they are deposited in buckets beneath. Since 

 the clams are used for different preparations, as already explained, 

 sorting is necessaiy. » 



