468 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
centuries before the advent of Mya arenaria in California waters. To proceed to the question, Was 
the seed of this mollusk introduced from the waters of the Asiatic shores of the North Pacific or from 
the American shores of the North Atlantic? If artificially introduced, of which there can be no doubt, 
from which direction does the extent and character of the traffic of our commercial intercourse make 
it most probable that the species came or was brought ? By water on the steamships from Japan, or 
by railroad 3,000 miles overland from the Atlantic seaboard? 
With the completion and operation of the transcontinental railroad, our oyster men, many of 
whom have a large capital invested in the business, commenced the importation of small oysters 
(0. virginica ) from the Atlantic side by the carload, for planting in San Francisco Bay, wherein a 
season or so they attain a merchantable size, growing exceedingly fat. * * * There is no similar 
traffic with Japan, and it is hardly possible that the fry of Mya arenaria, if it did adhere to the 
bottom of the Japanese steamers in Japanese ports, would be able to hold on for so long a time or for 
so great a distance with the friction of the water against the bottom of the steamer constantly 
operating to sweep it off. Native oysters are also imported from various points in Washington 
Territory and planted in the bay, but we have no knowledge of the Mya existing at any point in the 
region from whence these latter oysters are brought. 
The soft clam has attained great economic importance in California, As early as 
1881, as Dr. Stearns shows, it was the leading clam in the San Francisco and Oakland 
markets and had superseded to a great extent the native clams ( Macoma nasuta and 
Tapes staminea). That writer referred to the value of the soft clam and the desir- 
ability of its further distribution in the following words: 
In the presence of the fact of the rapid increase of this truly excellent edible — next to the oyster 
the most valuable, either as human food or fish bait, of any of this class of food — and the inference 
from its spreading so readily in San Francisco Bay that other places along the coast might prove 
equally congenial to it, it would be a wise, public-spirited act if the captains of our coasting vessels 
would take the trouble and incur the slight expense attending the planting of this clam at such points 
as their vessels touch at in the ordinary course of business. 
Iu the report of the California lisli commission for 1885-80 the commercial value 
of the soft-shell clam is thus referred to: 
During the last few years soft-shell clams have been taken in great quantities. The spawn is 
supposed to have been brought to this coast with the eastern oyster. They have covered the flats 
surrounding San Francisco Bay. The number taken by bushels can not be obtained, as they are 
marketed in San Francisco by the box, each box holding about 2 gallons of solid meat. Two hundred 
and fifty boxes, or 500 gallons, are consumed daily, making the annual consumption 156,500 gallons. 
The inquiries of the agents of the Fish Commission, covering a continuous period 
from 1888 to 1892, have shown the extent of the soft-clam fishery and trade of Cali- 
fornia in those years. The great bulk of the output is sold in San Francisco, and the 
quantity handled by the dealers of that city, as shown in the following table, repre- 
sents approximately the quantity taken in the State. The unit of measure is a box 
holding about 50 pounds of clams in the shell. The receipts of soft clams are seen to 
be increasing, while the consumption of native clams has varied but little in recent 
years. The ruling price to the consumer has been about $1 a box for several years. 
Table showing the quantity of soft clams handled by San Francisco dealers. 
Boxes. 
1888 31,200 
1889 18,500 
1890 25,000 
1891 30,000 
1892 40,000 
