1046 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [16] 



paring and packing oysters are fully described in Section D of this Bul- 

 letin, and need not be repeated here. 



THE CLAM INDUSTRY. 



The clam industry is of great importance, especially in the New 

 England States. Two species are chiefly taken, the long clarn {Mya 

 arenaria), abundant north of Cape Cod, and the quahaug, or round clam 

 ( Venus mcrce?iaria), south of Cape Cod. The former is extensively used 

 both as food and as bait in the cod-fisheries. Another species, the sea- 

 clam (Mactra solidissima), is of importance in the Cape Cod region, be- 

 ing used as the other kinds for food or bait. In 18^0 the total number 

 of long clams taken in the United States was 164,195,200, equivalent to 

 835,974 bushels, and valued at $330,523. Of the quahaug, or round 

 clam, 320,245,800 were taken, equivalent to 1,087,486 bushels, worth 

 $657,747. Quite an extensive industry in canning clams is carried on 

 in Maine, where in 1880 the quantity thus put up was 518,476 pounds 

 of clam meat, equal to 51,847 bushels of clams in the shell, and valued 

 at $47,318. Other species of mollusca are classed as fishery products, 

 and are discussed in the section devoted to Economic Mollusca. 



THE LOBSTER INDUSTRY. 



The lobster fishery is chiefly a New England industry. The total 

 weight taken in 1880 was 20,128,000 pounds, worth $732,000. Lobsters 

 are marketed either whole or canned. In New England towns fresh- 

 boiled lobsters are sold in the fish markets and peddled in the streets. 

 The canning of lobsters in 1880 was confined to the coast of Maine, 

 where there were 23 canneries open from April 1 to August 1. The quan- 

 tity of live lobsters used by these canneries was 9,494,284 pounds. The 

 n ber of one-pound cans put up was 1,542,696, of two-pound cans, 

 148,704, and of other brands 139,801 cans, having a total value of $238,280. 

 Seventeen canneries, located in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and other 

 British provinces, were owned by Americans. The product of these 

 canneries in 1880 was valued at $246,000, and was all exported to Eu- 

 rope and other foreign countries without passing through the United 

 States. Further details of this industry, as also of the business in 

 shrimps, prawns, and other crustaceans are given by Mr. Bath bun in 

 the section devoted to Economic Crustaceans, Worms, &c. In the same 

 section the particulars of the American sponge industry are also given. 



THE WHALE FISHERY. 



In Section E, "The Whale Fishery and its Appliances," will be found 

 a statistical statement of the products of that fishery. The industry is 

 of small importance compared with thirty or forty years ago, and is 

 now carried on in but few places. New Bedford and Provincetown in 

 Massachusetts, and San Francisco on the Pacific coast, send out fleets 



