[47] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 231 



undertaken, they are carried fresh in the wells or packed in ice. The salt- 

 ings are of two kinds: "full salting" and "slack salting," or "covering." 

 In the former method one bushel of salt is allowed to each barrel; in the 

 latter, only from half a peck to half a bushel. About 12 bushels of clams 

 will make a barrel of salted bait, which is valued at $4. The practice of 

 taking mackerel in seines, and the use of the trawls in the cod fishing, 

 which are not baited with clams, is interfering with this branch of the 

 soft clam industry; but it is still of considerable importance. 



The following is a summary of the annual product of the fishery, and 

 its value: 



Total number of clams (Mya arenaria) 164, 195, 200 



Total number of bushels 835, 974 



Value per bushel (average) $0. 395 



Total value annual product $330, 523. 24 



Mactra solidissima, Chemnitz. 



This bivalve is the Mactra gigantea of Lamarck, the Mactra similis 

 of Say, and the Spisula solidissima of Gray and other writers. It is 

 known commonly as the "sea," "surf," or "hen" clam, the various des- 

 ignations being applied indiscriminately. It exists from Florida and 

 the Gulf of Mexico to Labrador, and is abundant along the entire 

 coast. It is found fossil in the Post-Pliocene of Massachusetts, and ap- 

 parently in the Miocene of the Carolinas. The Mactra solidissima prop- 

 erly belongs to sandy shores, and is not often found elsewhere, the 

 only other locality it seems to favor being the gravelly and shelly bottoms 

 of bays and sounds, where it is common and of great size. It exists in 

 sheltered waters and on open beaches, and generally from low-water 

 mark to 5 and 6 fathoms. It is very abundant and large on the outer 

 beaches of New Jersey and south side of Long Island. The shells vary 

 greatly both in size and form ; they may be oval, elliptical, triangular, 

 compressed, or swollen, and are sometimes more than 6 inches long and 

 5 broad. As the siphon-tubes are very short, it does not burrow very 

 deeply, though its large and muscular foot enables it to do so quickly. 

 Large numbers are thrown up on the beaches by every storm, to be util- 

 ized as food by the birds, and as manure by man. 



The " sea-clam" is not of commercial importance south of New Jersey, 

 and probably is more extensively sought in the Cape Cod region than 

 elsewhere. There they are worth $3 per barrel, but sell in the Boston 

 market, when fresh, at $4 ; in New York markets they are rare. Their 

 consumption as food is confined to the coasts principally, owing to the 

 ease with which the superior " long clam" and "round clam" can be ob- 

 tained, and on account of the toughness of the flesh of the large animals. 

 The young of this species are, however, quite equal in flavor ar d quality 

 to any clam of the coast. 



While not holding a high place as an edible mollusk, the sea-clam 



