586 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



has only to spread his catch on the surface and the quahogs will burrow into the 

 sand and continue their growth. Some fishermen spread their catch on floats which 

 they lower into the water so as to keep the clams alive until needed. The advan- 

 tage of the use of floats is that the clams need not be dug a second time and may 

 be easily and quickly obtained for market when desired. 



The chief markets for New England quahogs are Boston and New York. 

 Quahogs will live out of water very much longer than the soft clam. It may be 

 safely shipped far inland even in summer. It is therefore better known in the 

 markets of the Mississippi Valley than the soft clam. 



Frozen Clams 



At the end of December, 1949 there were 189,970 pounds of clams in cold 

 storage; this is about the monthly average for this sea food. The greater portion 

 of these were being held for future use in canned products such as chowder. 

 They are packed in telescope-top tin cans or in waxed cartons, with a capacity 

 of 5 pounds each. There are very few frozen clams packed in small 1-pound fam- 

 ily-size containers. All those frozen are cleaned ready for use as soon as they are 

 defrosted. 



Pacific Coast Industry 



The chief commercial clam of the Pacific Coast is the so-called razor clam 

 (Siliqua patula) . The most important clam fisheries of the Pacific Coast are lo- 

 cated in Clatsop County, Oregon; Grays Harbor and Pacific counties, Washing- 

 ton; and near Cordova, Alaska. This clam is usually found in the sand between 

 the tide lines. The clammers mostly use short-handled spades for digging. The 

 clams are most numerous near the low-water mark; because of this the best dig- 

 ging is during the spring tides when the greatest run-out occurs at low tide. Be- 

 cause of the danger of overfishing a closed season has been inaugurated in Wash- 

 ington from June 1 to September 1. 



Preservation 



Canning. The only important means of preserving clams is by canning. Small 

 quantities of clams are preserved by other methods, including pickling, salting, 

 drying, and smoking; but the amount of clams preserved in the United States 

 by these methods is insignificant. However, the Japanese dry considerable quan- 

 tities of clams. 



The quantity and value of clams and clam products canned by states in 1948 

 are given in Table 125 (p. 577). 



Several species of clams are canned both whole and minced. The general pro- 

 cedure, excepting the removal of the siphon, is similar for all species. In some 

 canneries this is included with the whole meat as it increases the yield to a con- 

 siderable extent. This is usually the practice when the clams are minced for 

 canning. 



Much labor-saving machinery is employed in the more modern clam-canning 

 factories. Several of the up-to-date plants employ automatic shucking machinery. 

 The automatic shucker consists of a long rectangular box containing a rack which 

 is operated as a rocker. The motion of the rocker carries the clams toward the 



