PECTINID.E. SCALLOP. 103 



Dawlish, the Solen is called the sand clam. Lutraria 

 maxima is called the great clam, or otter shell, and Mr. 

 J. K. Lord states that in British Columbia and Vancou- 

 ver's Island it is one of the staple articles of winter food, 

 on which the Indian tribes, who inhabit the North- West 

 Coast of America, in a great measure depend. The 

 squaws fish for them, as it is derogatory to the dignity 

 of a man to dig clams. They use a bent stick for the 

 purpose, about four feet long, and they cook them by 

 placing the shells on red-hot pebbles from the camp 

 lire, till the shells open. To preserve them for winter 

 use, a long wooden needle with an eye at the end, 

 is threaded with cord made from native hemp, and on 

 this the clams are strung like dried apples, and tho- 

 roughly smoked in the interior of the lodge.* The wam- 

 pum, or Indian money, is made of the clam ( Venus mer- 

 cenaria), and the shells are strung together and form a 

 belt. The wampum is the token of peace and friendship 

 amongst the American Indians. 



Professor Simmonds, in his ' Curiosities of Food/ gives 

 an account of the collection of clams on the North 

 American coasts for the Boston markets. There are 

 two kinds, which are eaten in great numbers in spring, 

 when they are in the best condition. They are also 

 salted and preserved in barrels, and the fishermen use 

 them as bait for codfish. It has been suggested by 

 Mr. Nichols to acclimatize the American clam on our 

 British and Irish coasts, as it would prove a valuable 

 addition to our edible mollusks,t and the experiment 

 has already been tried on the French coast by M. de 

 Broca, M. Coste, and Count de Ferussac. Breeding-beds 



# ' The Naturalist in British Columbia,' by John Keast Lord, vol. i. 

 f ' Forty Years in America,' Nichols. 



