33 Our Food Mollusks 



ently, has artificial production been encouraged, and the 

 only effort to conserve the supply has been to declare a 

 close season now and then. There are no provisions for 

 forcing negligent towns to care for their shell-fisheries, 

 and losses from such negligence fall on the public. The 

 rights of citizens of the states, so far as the clam in- 

 dustries are concerned, have been given to the few liv- 

 ing on the shore. Not only have they in most cases 

 failed to take advantage of these great and special priv- 

 ileges, but they have, with almost perfect unanimity, de- 

 clared that " outsiders " shall be allowed no privileges 

 whatever on their shores. 



It thus appears that laws are urgently needed in the 

 north Atlantic states that will permit of the artificial cul- 

 ture of the quahaug by any citizen of the commonwealth 

 formulating such laws. It would be better for each 

 state possessing bottoms suitable for quahaug culture to 

 make them accessible by lease or sale to non-residents. 

 This has proved to be good policy in the management of 

 the oyster industry. Unfortunately the time seems not 

 to be near when such a condition may be attained in New 

 England. 



When quahaug culture is attempted on a large scale, 

 there will be some disadvantages as compared with soft 

 clam or oyster culture. Chief among these will be the 

 difficulty of obtaining large quantities of seed. The set 

 seems usually to be scattered. One often finds on an ex- 

 posed beach or flat great accumulations of very small bi- 

 valves having a superficial resemblance to young qua- 

 haugs, and which the natives of the shore usually con- 

 fuse with them. Dense segregations of the young of 

 Venus seem not to be so common as those of Mya, though 

 why this should be so is difficult to explain, for the habit 



