332 Our Food Mollusks 



of seed clams averaging one and three-quarters inches in 

 length. For this seed he might have to pay five dollars 

 a bushel, though often he would be able to obtain it for 

 less. These young clams, for which he has paid six hun- 

 dred dollars, he plants in early May. By the first of No- 

 vember following they should average two and a half 

 inches in length, and would have increased in volume to 

 six hundred bushels. These he should be able to sell for 

 at least three dollars a bushel, or eighteen hundred dol- 

 lars. After deducting the amount spent in raking, 

 which would vary according to the depth of water and 

 the character of the bottom, he would in any case receive 

 a relatively large profit from his investment. The pro- 

 duction on some bottoms would not be so great as this, 

 but on many others it would be considerably greater. 



The hard clam is widely and favorably known in the 

 northern states, while in the South, in the warm waters 

 of which it is much more at home, it is rarely seen in 

 the markets, and in many regions is entirely unknown. 

 Where it is now consumed, the demand for it is rapidly 

 increasing, and when it has made its way into southern 

 and far interior markets, a new and extensive industry 

 will without doubt appear on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts 

 over an area that is now practically unproductive. 



