PECTINIDJE. SCALLOP, 
103 
Dawlish, the Bolen is called the sand clam. Lutraria 
m,axima is called the great clam, or otter shelly and Mr. 
J. K. Lord states that in British Columbia and Vancou- 
ver’s Island it is one of the staple articles of winter food, 
on which the Indian tribes, who inhabit the North-West 
Coast of America, in a great measure depend. The 
squaws fish for them, as it is derogatory to the dignity 
of a man to dig clams. They use a bent stick for the 
purpose, about four feet long, and they cook them by 
placing the shells on red-hot pebbles from the camp 
fire, till the shells open. To preserve them for winter 
use, a long wooden needle with an eye at the end, 
is threaded with cord made from native hemp, and on 
this the clams are strung like dried apples, and tho- 
roughly smoked in the interior of the lodge.* The wam- 
pum, or Indian money, is made of the clam (Venus mer- 
cenarid), and the shells are strung together and form a 
belt. The wampum is the token of peace and friendship 
amongst the American Indians. 
Professor Simmonds, in his ^ Curiosities of Food,’ gives 
an account of the collection of clams on the North 
American coasts for the Boston markets. There are 
two kinds, which are eaten in great numbers in spring, 
when they are in the best condition. They are also 
salted and preserved in barrels, and the fishermen use 
them as bait for codfish. It has been suggested by 
Mr. Nichols to acclimatize the American clam on our 
British and Irish coasts, as it would prove a valuable 
addition to our edible mollusks,t and the experiment 
has already been tried on the French coast by M. de 
Broca, M. Coste, and Count de Ferussac. Breeding-beds 
* ‘ The Naturalist in British Columbia,’ by John Keast Lord, vol. i. 
t * Forty Years in America/ Nichols. 
