OTHER BIVALVE MOLLUSKS 



93 



their meals, and then repeated the operation on the 

 slowly rising pile. It has been found that some of 

 the old shell heaps are now partly under water, indi- 

 cating that formerly the shore was a little higher 

 than it is at the present time. Large quantities of 

 the old shells have been removed from time to time 

 for various purposes, particularl)^ for the use of hens 

 and chickens in poultry yards. It is quite remark- 

 able that the refuse of the old Indian feasts should 

 become the basis for modern enterprise in the way of 

 producing food. The old clam shells are made to 

 re-appear in the form of fresh egg shells. 



It is interesting 

 to examine these 

 old "kitchen mid- 

 dens," and deter- 

 mine what species 

 of shell-hsh former- 

 ly abounded in the 

 adjacent mud flats. 

 I have found vari- 

 ous kinds of shells, 



but by far the most abundant ones are those of the 

 species named Maconia nasuta^ Conr., the Bent- 

 Nosed Macoma, Figure 72. Although so abundant 

 then, this species seems to be dying out, and its place 

 is rapidly being taken by the Rhode Island clam, 

 Mya aretiaria^ which we will presently consider, 

 but not a specimen of that shell is found in the 

 mounds. Macoma nasuta is a common species on 

 the Coast, reaching from Kamchatka to Mexico. It 

 inhabits muddy flats, burrowing quite deeply, and 



Fig. 72 



