CHAPTER XIV: THE VENUS CLAMS AND 

 CARPET SHELLS 



Family Veneridte 



Shell sub-orbicular or oblong, regular, closed; ligament ex- 

 ternal; hinge with three divergent teeth; two muscle scars oval, 

 polished; pallial line sinuate. Animal free, active, rarely burrow- 

 ing, or forming a byssus for attachment; mantle with large ante- 

 rior opening; siphons unequal, more or less united; foot tongue- 

 like, compressed, rarely grooved; gills large, sub-quadrate, dorsally 

 united. 



Bivalves whose tropical forms are remarkable for elegance 

 of shape, finish and coloration, frequently with chevron-shaped 

 markings; texture very hard. A large family in tropical and tem- 

 perate zones. The genera are variously arranged by authors 



who disagree. 



Genus VENUS, Linn. 



Shell thick, ovate, smooth, ridged or cancellated; margins 

 minutely crenulated; cardinal teeth, three; ligament prominent, 

 lunule distinct ; mantle margin fringed ; siphons unequal, separated ; 

 fringed, foot slim. A world wide genus. 



The Round Clam or Hard-shelled Clam (F. mercenaria, 

 Linn.) is the "Quahog" and "Little Neck," the chief commercial 

 clam of our east coast. In Chapter L of Part IV. this species is 

 fully described as a typical bivalve. The obliquely round shells 

 are familiar in the markets. 



When the tide goes out the clam-digger may be seen in the 

 mud flats and in shallow coves raking the clams to fill his boat 

 or basket. He has a special tool called a "clam rake." It is 

 not a romantic enterprise — "clamming" in the quagmires of 

 Cape Cod or elsewhere, but it is profitable. The men usually 

 wear high boots and do not mind wading in the clinging mud. 

 Flat-bottomed boats are used in shallow water. 



"Outside clams" with thinner shells, but of the same species, 



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