608 



HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



$1.50 to $2, but $2.25 was paid in 1881. Estimates at hand of the present yield gives to Baltimore 

 (as destination) about 3,500,000 yearly ; to Norfolk, 2,000,000 and to other markets (almost wholly 

 Yorktown), 2,000,000. These 7,500,000 quahaugs will measure about 30,000 bushels, aud are worth, 

 at $1.75 a thousand, $11,375. I am convinced, however, that these figures are much too small to 

 represent the total year's catch in Chesapeake Bay. 



NORTH CAROLINA. Southward of Norfolk not many quahaugs are obtained at present. 

 Some years ago the Norfolk dealers sent boats down to the sounds of North Carolina, particularly 

 to Okracoke Inlet, to buy clams, but that experiment was found unprofitable, both on account of 

 the length of the voyage, and the fact that no dependence could be placed upon the fishermen 

 getting the clams when they were wanted, notwithstanding the abundance of this mollusk. To 

 the small exportation and the local consumption of the whole coast from Norfolk to Florida 

 at 50,000 bushels a year, three-fourths of which is given to North Carolina, would not be far from 

 the truth in my opinion. This 50,000 bushels will not be worth more than $20,000 however. 



1<>. STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION OF QUAHAUG FISHERY. 

 Summarizing, we have the total quantity of quahaugs used in the United States annually: 



* Including 30,000 bushels from City Island, East River. 



(c) FISHEKT FOR SEA-CLAMS. 

 17. DISTRIBUTION, METHODS OF GATHERING, AND USES OF SEA-CLAMS. 



In addition to the quahaug and the soft clam, there are several bivalves of minor usefulness 

 as food. Chief of these is the Mactra solidissima, which is known under such diverse names as 

 " sea-clam," " surf-clam," " hen-clam," "beach-clam," "dipper," "skimmer," &c. It is distinguished 

 by its great size and smooth surface, some of the shells being more than 6 inches long and 4 or 5 

 broad; and there is great variation in the form of the shell, some being oval, others more oblong 

 or elliptical, and others nearly triangular; some are very swollen, others quite compressed. 

 Though more active than the quahaug, it frequents much the same localities, being seldom found 

 away from sandy beaches, and there remaining below low-water mark and thence to a depth of 4 

 or 5 fathoms. Hence it is not so easily obtained as the quahaug. "The siphon-tubes are quite 

 short, and the creature usually does not burrow very deeply, nor does it seem to construct any 

 permanent burrows. But it has a very large muscular compressed foot, with which it can quickly 

 burrow beneath the surface of the sand. Nevertheless large numbers are always thrown on the 

 beaches by violent storms and once there they are very soon devoured by crows, gulls, and other 

 large birds that frequent the shores." 



The range of the species includes our whole coast from the Gulf of Mexico to Labrador, but 

 this clam is familiar only to the people of Massachusetts Bay, Cape Cod, the south shore of Long 

 Island, and New Jersey. One of the earliest tracts written upon our natural history, Wood's " New 



