THE CLAM INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 581 



handles clams from contaminated areas by washing them with chlorinated sea 

 water. This is quite an expensive method, and it is doubtful that it could be uni- 

 versally adopted. 



The collection of seed clams or spat is much more difficult in the case of the 

 quahog clam inasmuch as the small hard clams are never found in vast quantities. 

 Although as many as 75 young quahogs per square foot may sometimes be caught 

 in box spat collectors, this method has not proved profitable. Since the young 

 quahogs ( littlenecks ) bring high prices, methods of quahog farming for the pro- 

 duction of littleneck clams have been suggested. By this system the larger older 

 quahogs are kept as seeders, the littlenecks alone being marketed. 



Clam Cultivation in Japan 



Glud (1947) has described the cultivation of several species of clams in Japan. 

 In certain areas of the coast practically all of the clams used result from cultivation. 

 Tiny clams, from % to % inch in diameter, are dredged with a basket-type appa- 

 ratus, equipped with a screen for separating the small clams from the sand. They 

 are usually taken at the mouths of rivers because the low salinity of the water 

 and food supply produce better sets. The clams are taken to the new area and 

 spread over the mud where they are left to burrow for a year or two. In this 

 length of time the Paphia phillipenarum will grow to 1 inch in diameter, which 

 is the usual market size, and the Meretrix meretrix will increase in size from 2 to 2/2 

 inches and be ready for the market. 



Atlantic Coast Industry 



Soft Clam. The early New England settlers soon learned of the valuable beds 

 of soft-shell clams that existed on many of the tidal flats along the Atlantic Coast. 

 In times of want the early colonists depended upon this natural food supply 

 which was so readily obtainable. There was some local trade in clams; but as 

 there were no inland markets, the demand was limited. Early in the nineteenth 

 century the fishermen began to use large quantities of clams as bait. About 1875 

 the value of the clam as food began to be recognized more generally throughout 

 the eastern states. A period of overfishing followed which depleted many of the 

 most valuable clam flats. Now, much attention is being given to the restocking 

 of the exhausted beds. 



Two methods of digging soft clams are commonly employed; one of these, 

 called "wet" digging, is carried on when water is over the clam flats, whereas 

 "dry" digging takes place when the beds are left exposed by the tide. Dry dig- 

 ging is by far the more common practice. Submerged clams are dug with an 

 enlarged clam hoe, known locally as a "sea horse," which has prongs 12 to 14 

 inches long and a strong wooden handle about 4 feet long. This handle has a belt 

 attachment which is buckled around the clammer. The sea horse is worked deep 

 into the loose sand and dragged by one man, who wades in the shallow water 

 over the submerged flats while his partner follows gathering the clams upturned 

 by the sea horse. Forks or hoes are occasionally used for this wet digging. 



The rake or digger used in dry digging much resembles a potato digger, but 

 varies with the soil of the clam flat. If the soil is loose and sandy or gravelly, dig- 

 gers with broad prongs are used; but for hard mud flats, they should have thin, 

 sharp prongs. The angle which the handle makes with the prongs of the hoe is 



