116 THE SCALLOP FISHERY 



parts, .49 of an ounce, or 32.8 per cent. ; shell, .74 of an ounce, or 49.43 

 per cent.; actual food, .27 of an ounce, or 17.77 per cent. Considering 

 merely the soft parts of the scallop, the proportion of food and waste 

 is much closer. The " eye " is by weight 35 per cent, of the soft parts, 

 while the non-edible soft parts constitute the remaining 65 per cent. 



(b) The Non-edible Parts. The non-edible parts of the scallop can 

 be divided into two classes, (1) the shell or hard portion, which is neces- 

 sarily waste except for certain uses common to all shellfish, (2) the 

 viscera of the scallop, or all parts except the " eye." The latter is the 

 non-edible part proper; as in other shellfish these parts are utilized for 

 food. 



(1) The Shell. The shell impregnated with lime salts necessarily 

 makes up a good portion, about one-half, of the total weight. However, 

 it cannot be considered waste except in a non-edible sense, as the scallop 

 shell is found useful in several ways, (a) Oyster planters buy large 

 quantities of shells for cultch to catch the oyster set, as the fragile 

 nature is most serviceable in separating the clusters of young oysters. 

 The average price runs from 3 to 5 cents per bushel. The greater part 

 of the shell heaps are utilized for this purpose, (b) On Cape Cod, 

 shell roads and walks are sometimes made with scallop shells, (c) Work 

 baskets, pin cushions and various ornaments of the house are decorated 

 with scallop shells, (d) Within the last few years scallop shells bound 

 together with ribbon and containing miniature photographic views, for 

 souvenir postal cards, have been put on the market by Boston firms, who 

 purchased the cleaned shells from the scallopers at the rate of $6 per 

 barrel. Only the lower or bright colored valve is used. 



(2) The Soft Parts. The non-edible part or body of the scallop 

 forms 32.8 per cent, by weight of the total scallop. While not utilized 

 for food at the present time, although there is no reasonable objection 

 except custom and prejudice, it is made use of for (a) fish bait, either 

 fresh or salted; (b) fertilizer. The probable reason why this whole- 

 some flesh is not made use of as food is because of the brilliant coloring 

 of the mantle and its tough appearance. Other shellfish, such as the 

 clam, quahaug and oyster, are eaten entire, and there is no good reason 

 why the scallop should not be taken in the same way. 



(c) The Size of the " Eye." - - The relative size of the " eye " increases 

 with the size of the scallop, as its percentage by weight is slightly 

 greater in large scallops. The percentage by weight for a 60-millimeter 

 scallop is 17.47 per cent.; for a 65-millimeter, 17.87 per cent.; for a 

 70-millimeter, 17.97 per cent., while the ratio of shell and body does not 

 seem to change. The actual weight of the " eye " varies in the different 

 localities, some showing as much as one-fourth more weight for the 

 same sized scallop. In percentage the Buzzard's Bay district led, averag- 

 ing about 18.18 per cent., with 18.70 per cent, high at New Bedford, 

 while Chatham and Nantucket gave only 17.20 per cent, and 16.67 per 



