OF MASSACHUSETTS. 115 



that the small Cape scallops could not compete in the Boston market 

 with the larger Maine scallops (deep sea), and that the fishermen found 

 it necessary to. increase the size by swelling. If this were the cause, 

 the fishermen soon found it decidedly to their advantage to continue the 

 process of selling " watered stock." 



A change has taken place in the appearance of the scallop a few 

 hours after soaking. The small yellow or pinkish " eye " of the freshly 

 opened scallop has taken on a white, plump appearance, adding greatly 

 to its salable qualities. On the other hand, the fine flavor and freshness 

 have disappeared, " soaked " out, so to speak, and the transformed scal- 

 lop lacks many of the qualities which endear it to the heart of the 

 epicurean. Considerable loss in nourishment has taken place, although 

 exact figures have not been conclusively obtained by experiment, and 

 the scallop spoils much sooner than the unsoaked. If kept too long 

 the absorbed water is given off and the scallop shrinks back to its 

 original size, a process which is more quickly accomplished on the 

 frying pan, where the " soaked " scallop rapidly shrivels. While too 

 much cannot be said to discourage the " soaking " of scallops and to 

 educate the public to demand the real article, it can be fairly stated 

 that the process, although producing an inferior article of food, is not 

 detrimental to the public health as long as proper sanitary precautions 

 are taken by having the surroundings hygienic and by using pure 

 water. 



The practice of " soaking " will only come to an end when the public 

 refuse to buy ansrthing but " diy " scallops, and only till then, unless 

 special legislation is enforced, will " soaked " scallops be taken from 

 the market. At the present time, if the wholesale dealers uniformly 

 demanded " unsoaked " scallops from the fishermen, and increased the 

 price, they would be able to get their shellfish unsoaked. 



Food and Waste. — The determination of the amount of food and 

 waste in the scallop was undertaken with scallops from six scalloping 

 towns, comprising the three sections of Buzzard's Bay, Cape Cod and 

 the islands. In this- work the " eye " was considered the only edible 

 part of the animal. Four sizes, 55 millimeters, 60 millimeters, 70 milli- 

 meters and 75 millimeters were used. Ten scallops of each size were 

 dissected, and the weight of the different parts recorded. 



(a) The Food Value of the Average Scallop. — The "eye" or edible 

 portion constitutes but a small part of the entire scallop. By weight 

 the actual food in a scallop of 65 millimeters (2%6 inches), the average 

 from all the determinations, is only 17.77 per cent, of its weight. Thus, 

 in order to get 18 pounds of " eyes " (2 gallons) it would be necessary 

 to procure 100 pounds of living scallops. 



The average scallop (Fig. 82) is made up as follows: total weight, 

 1.5 ounces, or 100 per cent. ; total non-edible part, 1.23 ounces, or 82.23 

 per cent, (includes both shell and non-edible soft part) ; non-edible soft 



