318 Our Food Mollusks 



fact that the wild fruits pass to the owner of the title 

 of the land, while the shellfish are specifically exempted, 

 and remain the property of the public." 



In time these antiquated laws will be changed. Clam 

 bottoms will be leased to individuals by the state, and 

 not by the towns, if, indeed, they are not eventually sold 

 as they should be, and the harvests they bear will belong 

 to the owners. But the demand for the change should 

 come from the public and not alone from the few who 

 would engage directly in the clam industry. 



With the formulation of new laws to establish the in- 

 dustry, there should not be omitted those safeguarding 

 the public health, by requiring cities and towns near 

 clam flats to make a proper and safe disposal of sewage. 

 Oystermen are able to establish growing grounds far 

 from shore, where oysters will be safe from contamina- 

 tion by disease-producing micro-organisms, and many of 

 them are doing so; but soft clams can be dug only on the 

 shore between tide lines. 



The facts should be recognized that the present soft 

 clam industry, that depends entirely on natural condi- 

 tions, is far on the way to destruction; that nature at best 

 is extremely wasteful in her methods; and that the hand 

 of man can easily compel her to produce great wealth on 

 desert places. The establishment of the new industry 

 should be accomplished with much less effort than was 

 the existing oyster industry. Very much less labor need 

 be expended in the collection of seed. There need be no 

 spreading of collectors. Some thinning and equalizing 

 of the distribution may be necessary on areas seeded 

 naturally, but without boats or expensive implements, 

 barren ground may easily be planted. Once in the 

 ground, the clams are safe from all natural enemies. 



