Clams. Many molluscs pass under the name of clams. The sand or soft clam of the New England States is Mya arenaria; the round clam or hard-shell clam, Venus mercenaria; and both these are brought to market as food. The sea clam is the Mactra gigantea and M. solidissima, Gould; the razor clam, Solen ensis, Lin. The soft clam is, next to the oyster, the most important bivalve of the American coast, whether we view it as a means of public sustenance, or as an addition to the fishing industry of the country. Its great abundance on the coasts where it is found, the good market it commands, the ease with which it can be obtained from the banks at low tide, all render it a most valuable source of sustenance to the poorer classes. Clam beds are found in sheltered parts of the coast, or at least in places where the action of the waves is not sufficiently strong to change the character of the banks. The consumption of these molluscs is considerable during every season, but especially in summer, along the entire coast of the Northern States, from New York to Maine; but nowhere is it so great as at Boston. The people of the United States use clams in a variety of culinary preparations, the most popular of which is, undoubtedly, a kind of soup especially esteemed in Boston. Round clams exist in great abundance on the American coast, from Cape Cod almost to the extremity of Florida. They are generally found on the shores of gulfs and bays, and of the mouths of large rivers which are less exposed to the action of the waves than the open coast. Their beds are at a depth varying from 6 to 25 feet below the surface of the water at low tide. Like all the molluscs of that family, they prefer a large proportion of mud with the sand in which they live. Round clams are the object of an especial culture in America, designed to improve the rapidity of their growth. Like the "paires doubles" (Venus verrucosa) or clams of the Mediterranean, they are never as delicate in flavour as when freshly caught. In summer the consumption of clams in the cities of New York and Philadelphia is very considerable, much greater than that of the Mya arenaria. Like the latter, sold in their natural condition or out of the shell, they furnish many excellent dishes, the most esteemed of which is clam chowder. Many persons eat the smaller specimens raw; and when flavoured with a few drops of lemon juice, they are as palatable as the clovisses (Tapes virginea and T. decussata) and the "paires doubles (Venus verrucosa), which are the especial favourites of the people of Marseilles. Whatever may be the value of soft clams as a means of sustenance for the people along the coasts, they are still more important to the fisheries of the country. The Americans have for a long time been aware of the marked predilection which many fish, particularly those of the cod species, manifest for the flesh of clams, under whatever form presented to them. Clams are used for bait, either alive or salted, according as the fishery is on the coast or out at sea. Many years ago it was estimated that 40,000 bushels of clams were consumed in the preparation of salt bait, in addition to large quantities used in a natural state by the coast fisheries. Cockles, mussels, periwinkles, whelks, and other molluscs are largely eaten for food in many countries of Europe. |
