Clam shell

“ At this point you get up, saying things that in all likelihood do no credit to your education and upbringing, and throw the twelve-pound clam-shell that probably ornaments the veranda, right at the furry head of the singer. A clam-shell has a row of sharp points on its edge, and it is extremely solid. As a rule, it penetrates far enough to convey your wishes. ”

“ Thus armed, they begin to dig up the mud-homes of the unsuspecting clam: guided by the jets of water, they push down the bent stick, and experience has taught them to make sure of getting it well under the shell: placing a stone behind the stick, against which the squaw fixes her foot firmly, she lifts away: the clam comes from darkness into daylight ere he knows it, and thence into the Indian’s basket. The189 basket filled, the clam-pickers trudge back again to the lodge—and next to open him. He is not a native to be astonished with an oyster-knife ”

“ I afterward saw a stone resembling a razor clam, but it was a solid one. It appeared as if the stone, in the process of formation, had filled the mould which a clam-shell furnished; or the same law that shaped the clam had made a clam of stone. Dead clams, with shells full of sand, are called sand clams. There were many of the large clam-shells filled with sand ”

“ A couple of large clam shells which he had found on the beach, served to carry water. He had in his pocket a flint and steel, with which he soon managed to produce a blaze. While the shell-fish were cooking, he opened the cask, which he found contained flour. Though the outside was wet, by digging down to a little depth, he found the interior perfectly dry. A clam shell served him as a kneading-dish, and he quickly made some dough cakes, which he baked in the embers. He was thus able to enjoy a very satisfactory breakfast, although he had cold water alone as a beverage. ”

“ Fresh Water Shells. In all the mounds yet opened, examples of the Unio, or River Mussel, commonly known as the clam have been found. They are usually polished, cut into symmetrical shapes, and have holes bored in them. We have one which was no doubt used as a breast ornament, and was hung by a string around the neck. In the bottom of a nearly complete pottery cup, found in the grand mound, which went to pieces as we took it out, there was lying a polished clam shell. ”

“ Cover the pot closely. As soon as the shells open the clams are cooked. When hard shell clams are taken from the shells, clip off with scissors the hard rim from each one. The clam juice should be saved and put aside to settle, the clear liquor can then be poured off. It is used to some extent in nearly all dishes made from clams.
If an oyster or a clam has its shells open, pick [292] it up in your hand. If it closes it is all right, if it remains open throw it away for it is dead. Only death prevents these creatures from shutting their doors. ”

“ The clams are deposited in these huts, and in those parts of the day when the tide is in, so that the men cannot work out on the flats, and in stormy weather, they are employed in ‘shocking’ them, as it is called, that is, in opening the shell and taking out the clam, which is done with a small stout knife. ”

“ A set of stout adductor muscles keep the two shells or valves together and allow them to open and close at the will of the animal. The majority of clams live in the mud in a horizontal position, the anterior end being buried and the posterior end, containing the siphons which draw in and expel the water, being out of the mud, in the water. The clam progresses by pushing forward its strong, muscular foot, getting a firm hold of the mud and then drawing the shell after it. ”

“ In Plate XXVI, Figs. 4 and 5, two methods of hafting are illustrated. If used for striking, the long handle would be the more suitable, but if for scraping, dressing skins, scaling fish, or shaping wood or clay, the handle suggested in Fig. 5 would be the most convenient. The clam-shell agricultural implements, so frequently mentioned by explorers along the Atlantic coast, were attached to handles in the manner of hoes or adzes, as shown in Fig. 2, Plate XXVII. It is possible that the specimens under consideration may have been hafted in this manner. ”

“ The smaller clams, such as are generally used for food, are often picked up on the reef in basket-loads; and many a careless child has playfully thrust its little fingers into a gaping shell, an invasion promptly resented by the owner. Happily the scream of agony generally brings some friends to the rescue: and strong as is the armour of the poor besieged clam, it offers one weak point to the enemy—namely, the cavity through which the byssus passes ”

“ The valves of many species are large and deep, and are available for cups and dishes, and as such are not scorned even by the modern clam-baker, who, like the ancient inhabitant, makes periodical visits to the sea-shore to fish and feast. They were also used as knives, scrapers, and hoes, and in historic times have been extensively used in the manufacture of wampum. The hard-shell clam, Venus mercenaria, on account of the purplish color of portions of the valves, has been most extensively used for this purpose. ”

“ So big and weighty a shell can scarcely be sensible of its invariable burden of parasites and other encumbrances—but the variety of such tenants never fails to excite curiosity. That which is illustrated accommodated another oyster of delicate texture, a thorny clam (which has the reputation of being poisonous) , a mass of seaweed, a serpentine mollusc, two species of coral—the red organ-pipe and a mushroom—three burrowing crabs, besides a number of smaller animals, fixed and mobile, in addition to the congregation of less obvious life critical examination would undoubtedly have revealed. ”

“ If the salt is left in them, as they come from their native beds, their liquor will ferment, and they will quickly spoil.
The above facts are gathered from the most intelligent men in the shell-fish business in Connecticut—men who have had many years' experience in gathering oysters and clams, and preparing them for home and foreign consumption. They are all agreed that by judicious floating in the shell, and by washing and soaking when out of the shell, the oyster and the clam increase in bulk and improve in quality and flavor. ”

“ Embedded in the gills of fish the young clams live for some weeks looking like small pimples. When they have grown a tiny shell they drop to the bottom of the river or lake and begin to live in the usual way of clams. That is the curious life-history of the river clam.
While the skating lasted the boys were well occupied. The camp was run on the plan of two meals a day. Barker and the Indian set a few traps for muskrats and minks, tidied up the cabin, cooked the meals, washed dishes, and cut wood. In all these occupations the lads gladly took a hand. ”

“ This fish without the shell is so big that it must admit of a division before you can well get it into your mouth." Oysters are still found there. (See, also, Thomas Morton's "New English Canaan," page 90.)
Our host told us that the sea-clam, or hen, was not easily obtained; it was raked up, but never on the Atlantic side, only cast ashore there in small quantities in storms. The fisherman sometimes wades in water several feet deep, and thrusts a pointed stick into the sand before him. When this enters between the valves of a clam, he closes them on it, and is drawn out. ”

“ The lowest, a foot in thickness, consisted of the shells of the clam, whelk, and mussel, all much decomposed, and mixed with earth. Above this was a layer of dark vegetable mould, mixed with earth and gravel, and from six to eight inches in thickness. Above this was a second layer of shells, of the same species as those just mentioned, but in a much better state of preservation, and with less intermixture of earth; this deposit was in turn covered by another layer of earth and mould, and these now sustain a growth of forest trees, but none of them of large size. ”

“ Clam Fritters.—Twelve clams chopped or not, one pint milk, three eggs, add liquor from clams; salt and pepper, and flour enough for thin batter. Fry in hot lard.
Clam Stew.—Lay the clams on a gridiron over hot coals, taking them out of the shell as soon as open, saving the juice; add a little hot water, pepper, a very little salt and butter rolled in flour sufficient for seasoning; cook for five minutes and pour over toast.
Eels, to Stew.—Of the above fish, that of the "silver" kind is preferable to its congener, and, therefore, ought to be procured for all cuisine purposes. ”

“ Of course that broke the shell and of course Corbie came down and ate the clam, without needing any vinegar or butter on it to make it taste good to him. How he learned to do this, the children never knew. Perhaps he found out by just happening to drop one he was carrying, or perhaps he saw the wild crows drop their clams to break the shells: for after nesting season they used often to come down from the mountainside to fish by the river for snails and clams and crayfish, when they were not helping the farmers by eating up insects in the fields. ”

“ The most common shellfish are the oyster, the round or hard-shell clam, the long-neck or soft-shell clam, the scallop, and, on the Pacific coast, the abalone, which is valuable both for its mother-of-pearl shell and its meat, which is a great delicacy, the most of which is sent to Japan, either dried or canned. ”

“ In some parts of the Indian Ocean, where pearl and sponge-fishing are carried on, this clam (known as the giant clam) , is a source of great danger to the divers, many losing their lives by being caught between the great valves of the shell, by either hands or feet. Many times a diver has amputated his fingers, hand or foot, and thus saved his life at the expense of one or more of these members.
The Tellinas (family Tellinidae) number among its five hundred or more species some very beautiful and interesting animals. ”

“ Brown had said her two children might go, and when Mrs. Slater had also consented to let her boy accompany his two new playmates, they set off.
"There isn't any water on the flats when the tide is out," said Mrs. Brown. "Bunny and Sue often go there to dig clams, and we can see them from here."
Soft clams are not like hard clams. The [185] shell is a sort of bluish black and is quite thin, so it is easily crushed. The soft clam is long and thin, instead of being almost round, like a hard clam.
A soft clam lives down in the mud or sand under water. ”

“ Cream of Clam Soup Make same as French Oyster Soup, using clams in place of oysters.
Clam Consommé Wash two quarts clams in shell. Put in kettle with one-fourth cup cold water, cover, and cook until shells open. Strain liquor through double thickness cheese-cloth, add to four cups consommé, and clear.
Clam and Chicken Frappé Wash and scrub with a brush two quarts clams, changing water several times. Put in kettle with one-half cup cold water, cover tightly, and steam until shells are well opened. Remove clams from shells and strain liquor through double thickness cheese-cloth. ”

“ The limy shell first suggests a relationship with the clam, but body structure shows it to be a closer relative of the crab.
Shrimps (Crago septemspinosus, the Sand Shrimp, and Palaemonetes vulgaris, the Prawn) Hard, transparent shell Long antennae Paddle-like tail
These tiny tide-pool creatures look for all the world like the larger edible shrimp served in local restaurants. Actually, these miniature two-inch-long shrimps are edible also, and quite enjoyable if you have the time and patience to collect enough for a meal. ”

“ Season them with black pepper and powdered mace, and mix them with grated bread-crumbs and fresh butter. Get some large clean clam-shells, and fill them to the edge with the above mixture, moistened with a very little of the liquor. Cover the surface with grated crumbs, and add to each one a small bit of butter. Set them in an oven, and bake them light brown. Send them to table in the shells they were baked in, arranged on large dishes. They are eaten at breakfast and supper. Clams must always have the shells washed before they are boiled. ”

“ The clams live in deep burrows in the firm mud or sand, the shells sometimes being a foot or fifteen inches beneath the surface. When the flats are covered with water his clamship extends his long siphons up through the burrow to the surface of the sand, and through one of these tubes the water and its myriads of animalcules is drawn down into the shell, furnishing the gills with oxygen and the mouth with food, and then the water charged with carbonic acid and fæcal refuse is forced out of the other siphon. ”

“ In gathering clams, the aim of the diver is to stab the gaping mollusc with a sharp-pointed stake, and then with his knife cut the silky filaments by which it adheres to the rock, after which he slips both hands below the huge shell, and endeavours to raise it;—no easy matter, considering what ponderous monsters many of the clams are—a single shell making an admirable bath for a child, pure as white marble, and highly polished by nature. ”

“ Fifteen to twenty years ago clams were everywhere much more abundant in this region than now, and in those days some market digging was carried on. At present the needs of the home market are with difficulty supplied from the local production, and 100 bushels per year would cover all clams dug both for food and bait. No effort has at any time been made by the town authorities to increase the industry, though the clam fishery, at least in the sheltered coves of Pamet River, is not without possibilities of development. ”

“ They are salted and preserved in barrels, and used by fishermen as bait for cod-fish. For many years past the digging and salting of clams for the Boston market has been an important business. These shell-fish abound in the extensive flats at the mouths of some of the rivers. The flats are daily covered by the tide, and afford the feeding ground which the clams require. Clams multiply with astonishing rapidity: they are dug in the winter and spring. The business furnishes employment for men and boys, that in former years were occupied in winter fishing. ”