THE MUSSEL OR CLAM AND OTHER BIVALVES 155 



predaceous mollusks, Urosalpinx and Nassa. Whole beds have 

 been known to be destroyed in a single night by the visitations 

 of starfishes, hence a constant watchfulness is required on the 

 part of the oysterman. Policing the oyster farms is another of 

 his cares, for pirates abound, and a bed may be robbed in the 

 night as easily as an orchard may be despoiled of its fruit. 

 Oyster culture is carried on extensively in Long Island Sound, 

 on the coasts of New Jersey and Virginia, and in the Chesapeake 

 Bay. The oysters from certain localities are esteemed more 

 than others, the flavor of the oyster being very dependent upon 



Fig. 87. — A, soft-shell clam. 

 B, razor-shell clam. 



(From Arnold.) 



the purity of the water and on the organisms upon which it feeds. 

 It has been definitely shown that oysters grown in contaminated 

 waters have been the agents of transmitting disease, notably 

 typhoid fever and cholera" (Arnold). 



Soft-shell Clam. — Among the other interesting relatives of 

 the fresh-water mussel that one sees at the seacoast are the soft- 

 shell or long-neck clam, the razor-shell clam, the hard-shell 

 clam, and the scallop. The soft-shell clam (Fig. 87, A) lies 

 buried in the mud or sand between tide marks with its long 

 neck, its siphon, stretched up toward the surface. Food is abun- 

 dant on these mud flats and is obtained, as is that of the 



