The Hard Clam 



3 2 9 



of the shell-fish industries, but already fast declining, 

 might be firmly established and greatly developed by arti- 

 ficial culture. The demand for the adult clams is grow- 

 ing rapidly, and there seems to be no danger that the 

 " little neck " will lose its popularity and again become 

 only a young quahaug. Present prices for this baby 

 clam are high, the clammer sometimes receiving four dol- 



Fig. 64. — Shell of a " little neck " 

 clam, Venus, showing a hole 

 bored over the visceral mass region 

 by an oyster drill, Urosalpinx. 



lars a bushel for his catch, while one who orders them on 

 the half -shell at a Boston or New York restaurant, pays 

 for them at the rate of fifty dollars a bushel. If their 

 production were to increase, the price received by the 

 clammer might be lowered, but because of the merits of 

 this form of food, the demand for it must continue to be 

 greater. 



The control of the present quahaug industry in New 

 England is very generally placed in the hands of the 

 selectmen of shore towns. Too often the responsibility 

 of supervising and intelligently regulating the raking of 

 natural beds is entirely neglected. In no case, appar- 



