‘y fy} 413 619 1889 Moll, a! OLL USCA OF Me, {0 QW SON os V3 aa ld ile 4 rz rk y EX LIBRIS = POoeon William Healey Dall AA Ay Division of Mollusks Sectional Library s VN ZAVALA Wy: BY ra OD oneal Division of Mollusks es a ey a Sectiona! Library i re . oT a eer ae s he, (OR at i i 1 at, ¢ Fg ca ica - aol hah QL NE G19 193" iM 4A} THE PeonNomic MOLLUSCA UG I DN ee BY hl W. F. GANONG. Reprinted from Bulletin No. VIII. of the Natural History Society of New Brunswick. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Leo7 LIBRARY ST. JOHN, N. B.: Barnes & Co., PRINTERS. 1889. ‘ NCE, y | Mi MUSEUM JAK OIT A ff 1 V5 {7D ‘ / i a a —— en THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OID IE BY W. F. GANONG. Section I. INTRODUCTORY. The following paper is not intended in any sense as an original scientific communication. It has been written for the use of students, teachers, and those interested in the knowledge and development of all of our resources; as a contribution to the much-needed literature which shall bring the results of the studies of scientific men, bearing upon practical questions, within the reach of the people; to present a synopsis of what is known in this year 1889 of the value, both actual and possible, to mankind, of all Molluscs living in the waters of these Maritime Provinces. It is hoped, that, within these limits, the work will be found to lack neither practical completeness nor scientific accuracy. Such a work is nowhere accessible to Canadian students, and the rapidly developing interest in scientific education in these provinces, justifies the hope that this paper will in some measure fill a want, soon to be, if not already felt. + THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. It is particularly appropriate that papers of this character should be presented to such a society as ours. The highest function of a local Society of Natural History must be admitted to be the patronage and encouragement of local Natural History in its practical and educational, as well as scientific aspects. In this it has a claim for support and for sympathy upon government and people, which greater pre- tensions would not warrant. The most valuable to man by far, of all the groups of Invertebrates, is that of the Mollusca. In all ages, in all parts of the world, savage and civilized men have utilized its members. The ancient refuse heaps of Europe show how old is the use of Molluscs as food; ethnologists have shown how wide-spread and old has been the use of shells for ornament, for money and for utensils of war and the home; and in more modern times, there have been found various other uses dependent upon the more numerous wants of advancing civilization. Unlike some other groups of animals, then, the Mollusca have been much observed by practical as well as scientific men; as in the useful plants, so among these, the useful forms are known to everybody. Remembering these facts, we are not surprised to find, in works dealing with the exploration and early history of these provinces, that the edible Molluscs were the first Invertebrates to be noticed, excepting possibly some of the annoying Insects. Jacques Cartier, the first explorer of the coast of Acadia who paid any attention to the animals and plants of the places he visited, does not mention any Invertebrates. It is not until we come to the works of Champlain and Lescarbot that we find references to the subject. Champlain’s work, ‘‘Les Voyages du Sieur de Champlain,” (Paris, 1613), records the earliest observations on the Mollusca of this region, but THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA, 5 Lescarbot’s ‘‘ Histoire de la Nouvelle France,” was published first, appearing in 1609.* Champlain mentions the occurrence at the present Weymouth Harbor, St. Mary’s Bay, Nova Scotia, of ‘‘ many Shell-fish, such as Mussels, Cockles and Sea- snails,” which he observed in his exploration in 1604. AtSt. Croix, now Dochet, Island in the St. Croix River, he found Cockles, Mussels, and Sea-snails, and in another passage he incidentally tells us what the Cockle is. Speaking of the Indians, he says, ‘‘when they do not hunt, they live on a shell-fish called the cockle,” thus showing that he meant the Clam. The Clam, as a food-mollusc, is unknown in Europe, its place being in part taken by the Cardiwm or true Cockle, for which Champlain naturally mistook it. By Sea-snails he probably means the large Whelks, Buccinum uwndatum and Lunatia heros. His only other reference to Mollusca, is in his description of Bras D’or Lake, Cape Breton, in which he says,—‘‘ there are many islands filled with a great deal of game, and Shell-fish of several kinds, amoug others of Oysters which are not of good flavor.” In the 1632 edition of his works, Champlain repeats these notes but does not add any new ones. ‘They derive their interest from the fact that they are the very earliest references to our Mollusca known to us. *But Newfoundland can claim some earlier ones. In ‘A letter written to M. Richard Hakluyt of the middle Temple, conteining a report of the true state and commodities of Newfoundland, by M. Anthonie Parkhurst Gentleman, 1578,” given by Hakluyt, Vol. II., pp. 170-174, it is said; ‘‘ As touching the kindes of Fish . thereare . . . . Oisters,and Muskles, in which I haue found pearles aboue 40 in one Muskle, and generally all haue some, great or small. I heard of a Portugall that found one woorth 300 duckets: There are also other kinds of shel-fish, as limpets, cockles, wilkes, lobsters, and crabs: also a fish like a Smelt which commeth on shore [a marginal note says ‘called by the Spaniards Anchouas, and by the Por- tugals Capelinas °*], and another that hath the like propertie, called a Squid.” And -again,—"‘I tolde you once I doe remember how in my trauaile into Africa and America, I found trees that bare Oisters, which was strange to you, till I tolde you that their boughes hung in the water, on which both Oisters and Muskles did sticke fast, as their propertie is, to stakes and timber.’? No Oysters occur in Newfound- land, but as the writer refers more than once to Cape Breton, he probably includes what he saw there with what he saw in Newfoundland. Another writer in the same volume, p. 194, describing Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s voyage to Newfoundland in 1588, says that Oysters do occur there;—‘‘ Oysters hauing pearle but not orient in colour: I tooke it by reason they were not gathered in season.’’ He must con- found some other molluse with the Oyster. A little farther on, the same writer .says:—‘‘ Lakes or pooles of fresh water, both on the tops of mountaines and in the vallies. In which are said to be muskles not vnlike to haue pearle.”’ 6 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. Lescarbot speaks of the occurrence of Mussels at St. Croix Island, and referring to the natural productions of the country, says: ‘‘ I would be forced to make an entire book if I should discourse on all the fishes which are common to the Brazilians, Floridians, Armouchiquois, Canadians and Souri- quois. But I will restrain myself to two or three, after having said that at Port Royal there are great beds of Mussels, with which we filled our boats when sometimes we went to those places. There are also there, Scallops, (Palowrdes),* twice as large as Oysters in size; also Cockles, which have never failed us.”” He makes a few other incidental references to this subject. The next work to mention our Molluscs, appears to be the ‘Description Geographique et Historique des Costes de ! Amerique Septentrionale,” and the *‘ Historie Naturelle.... de ? Amerique Septentrionale,” by Nicholas Denys, in 1672. The latter work, especially, contains several references of considerable interest, though of not much scientific import- ance. He knew of the occurrence of the Oyster at several points on the North Shore, notably around George’s Bay, at Malagash (?), Tatamagouche, Pictou, at Cocagne and tha Bras D’or Lake. Other Shell-fish he frequently refers to, and mentions their abundance at several places, for instance, the region near Cape Sable, La Heve Harbor, George’s Bay, near the mouth of Bras D’or Lakes, Tatamagouche, Miramichi, Bathurst, Port Daniel. He noticed Razor-fish (Cowtel- lieres), near Cape Sable, and Scallops ( Conniffle), at La Heve. His interesting description of the Squid and of the oyster- fishery, will be noticed under the sections on those animals. We have not been able to find that anything on this subject worthy of note was written during the last century. Occa- sional references to the North Shore oyster-beds occur, but nothing further. Charlevoix, in his ‘‘ Historie de la Nouvelle France,” (1744), is said to have referred to the manner of fish- ing Oysters on the coast of Acadia, which was the same as *Mr. J. H. Duvar tells the writer that the Acadian French of Prince Edward Island apply this word to the Quahog. It appears to have meant the Scallop to Lescarbot. TH ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. a Denys describes, and the same as is used to-day. During the early part of this century, there were many works published, describing the three provinces and their resources, either for the encouragement of immigration or similar purposes. Many of these contain lists of the edible forms, with occasionally notes upon them. A fair sample of such lists is the following, taken from Robert Cooney’s work, ‘‘ History of Northern New Brunswick and Gaspé,” published in Halifax, in 1832. Other Invertebrates are included, the Molluscs being italicized. Blue crab. Sea clam. Smooth cockle, Shore clam. Lobster. Star-fish. Muscle. Sea crab. Oyster. Soldier crab. Razor-fish. Sea urchin. Scollop. Periwinkle. All of these will readily be recognized by the readers of the following pages. In M. H. Perley’s report on the Fisheries of New Brunswick (Fredericton, 1852), occur some really valuable though very brief notes, and in the Descriptive Catalogue of the Fishes of Nova Scotia, by Thomas F. Knight (Halifax, 1866), we find quite the best account of the economic Moiluscs of these provinces which has appeared up to this time. On pages 43 to 54 of the latter is an account of the edible Molluscs of Nova Scotia, written by Mr. John Willis.* Many valuable notes are found also in the annual Fishery Reports of the Dominion. The splendid work recently issued by the United States government, ‘‘ History of Useful Aquatic Animals” (Washington, 1884), gives a very good aceount of many of our Molluscs, but not with special reference to our waters. Other works, likely to be of interest in this connection, are mentioned in the list below. A complete discussion of the economics of the Mollusca, in *Mr. Knight says that this work by Mr. Willis, to which was appended a complete list of the Molluscs of Nova Scotia, had already been published in a colonial periodical. I have been unable to find, by careful inquiries, what that periodical was. I would be deeply grateful to any one who could give me this information.—W. F. G. 8 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. other words, of their relations to man’s immediate interests; obviously includes a consideration of the injurious as well as of the beneficial forms. In the case of both of these, there is possible quite a natural division into those which are directly, and those which are indirectly, of injury or benefit, and this classification will be followed in this paper. Of the direct uses to man of the Mollusca, the most im- portant by far is that of food. The other uses must vary in importance with different ages, different localities, or different conditions of civilization. For our purposes we may consider the relative order to be as follows: (1) Use as food for man. (2) As bait in the fisheries. (8) As fertilizers for land. (4) For ornaments, including the production of pearl. (5) For money. (6) For the making of dyes, (7) For dishes and many minor uses. The most important of all food-molluscs is, of course, the Oyster. It is found in nearly all parts of the world except in the coldest seas, has been used from the remotest antiquity and is one of the most popular food-substances known. Many people have claimed that ours, of Acadia, are the best that are found in the world, and this much appears certain, that if not the best, they are among the best. Next in importance with us comes the soft-shell Clam, then the Scallop, the Quahog, Periwinkle, Razor-fish, Mussel, Whelk, Squid and one or two others. In Europe the Mussel takes the place of the Clam and the Periwinkle, and stands before it and just after the Oyster. Itismost remarkable that Molluscs esteemed in Europe should be neglected in Canada, and vice versa. Though our common Clam is abundant in the former country, it is never used either for food or bait, while the Mussel and Whelk, highly esteemed and of great value there, are rarely utilized by our people. No doubt the greater variety of cheap food within reach of our poorer classes has something to do with this, for it is chiefly by the lower classes that those Molluscs are used in Europe. THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 9 The following table, compiled from the work of Dr. Atwater, will show the respective nutritive values of several of our Molluscs, that of beefsteak and salmon being added for the sake of comparison. Per cent. Carbo- | Mineral nt. - a eae eee Protein. Fats. hydrates.| matters. Beefsteak,.......| 60. 40. 19. 20. il. Salmons. sees Gare 36.8 22.6 12.9 1.3 Oyster (O. Vir- giniana.)| 87.3 12.7 6.0 2 38.5 2.0 Clam (Mya arenaria,)| 85.9 14.1 8.5 1.0 2.0 2.6 Quahog (Venus mercenaria.)| 86.2 13.8 6.6 0.4 4.2 2.6 Mussel (Mytilus edulis,)| 84 2 15.8 8.7 ileal 4.1 1.9 Scallop (Pecten irradians.) 80.3 19.7 14.4 0.2 3.4 1.4 Other investigators have obtained results somewhat dif- ferent from these, which give to the Oyster a higher nutritive value. Its value as food depends very largely upon conditions not shown by the table, such as easy digestibility and the like. For these reasons it is good for invalids and is frequently prescribed by physicians. It will be noticed that the Mussel has a higher nutritive value than the Clam, and that in some respects both are better than the Oyster. Important as food-molluscs are to us, they were very much more so to the Indians who preceded us in Acadia. very- where on our coast, where Molluscs are abundant, we find heaps of shells which were thrown from the doors of the wigwams when their contents had been removed. ‘These kept accumulating for ages and in places are acres in extent and two or three feet in thickness, They consist, upon the southern coast, chiefly of Clam shells, but also Mussels, Whelks, Periwinkles, Limpets and the Scallop have been found, some of these perhaps carried in accidentally. Mingled with them are the bones of the principal Mammals of the region, and household or hunting implements, doubtless lost by their owners. These camping-places were occupied chiefly in the 10 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. spring and early summer when the land game was breeding and in poor condition, and life in the woods nearly intolerable on account of the insects. Indeed we have historical evidence that such was the case. Champlain tells us, “‘ when they (the Indians) do not hunt, they live on a shell-fish called the cockle,” the latter, as pointed out on a previous page, being the Clam. Denys, speaking of the region about George’s Bay and Gut of Canso, tells us there was there ‘‘ an abundance of Shell-fish of all kinds good to eat, which are the most import- ant means of subsistence of the savages during the spring.” There is, no doubt, much of interest to antiquarians, and something to naturalists, to be learned from a study of these shell-heaps. Those of the north shore have been in- vestigated by Rev. Dr. Patterson, though not, as he tells the writer, with reference to their shells, while those of the southern coast have been explored by Mr. G. F. Matthew and others, references to which will be found below.* For bait in the fisheries, the Squid and the Clam are of most importance to us. The latter has been used for a very long time, the former for not many years. It seems most remarkable that the Mussel, the same species-as that of Europe, and as abundant, should be totally neglected for this purpose. In Europe it is considered the best of baits; it is easier to obtain than the Clam and it should be tried by our fishermen. 'The Whelks and other common Molluscs would undoubtedly be good for this purpose, but are not abundant enough to replace the omnipresent Mussel. With us, the so-called mussel-mud is the most important fertilizer which the sea yields. This consists chiefly, how- ever, of oyster-shells, and its value to Prince Edward Island is considered by Mr. J. H. Duvar to be as great as that of the living Oysters. We believe that the farmers of the Southern and Atlantic coasts would find a rich fertilizer in the masses of *Discoveries at a Village of the Stone Age at Bocabec, N.B. By G. F. Matthew. Bull. N. B. Natural History Society, No. III., 1884, pp. 6-29. Notes on Certain Aboriginal Shell Mounds on the Coast of New Brunswick and of New England. By S. F. Baird, Proc. U. 8. National Museum, Vol. IV., 1881, pp. 292-297. Also see Trans, N. S. Institute. Vol I., Part II., 1864. pp. 94-99. THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. ie mud underlying the mussel-beds. In time the Mussels them- selves are sure to become valuable, and certain beds should be left undisturbed. The Squid has been to some extent used for this purpose, but lately it has become too valuable as a bait to be so employed. The shells of but few of our Molluscs are available for purposes of ornamentation. Most shells of the Temperate Zone are plain and dull in comparison with the brilhantly colored and beautifully sculptured forms of the tropic seas. Hence a review of the subject as far as regards our waters would be very short in comparison with that of the world at large. Savage and civilized man have alike delighted to use them for personal and household decoration. Some of our Whelks or Spindle-shells are frequently seen as ornaments for mantels in fishermen’s houses, and as borders for flower-beds in their gardens. Mussel-shells and the Cockle ( Cardiwm) are made into ornamental dishes, pin-cushions and the like. The valves of Scallops, particularly of our great Pecten tenwicosta- tus, and the Beach Clam (Mactra solidissima) give a good surface for painting on, and are frequently thus utilized. No doubt our Trochus occidentalis and species of Margarita could be used for many minor purposes if they could be obtained in sufficient numbers; they are as beautiful as most of the shells made into shell boxes and the like. The Indians of America used wampum as an ornament as well as for money; the Indians of Acadia appeared to have employed it more for the former purpose than the latter. The subject will be further considered below. By far the most important of ornaments yielded by Molluscs are pearls. The best, as everybody knows, come from the Persian Gulf and the coasts of Ceylon and Central America, and are found in the pearl oyster. Several of our Molluscs yield bodies, which, though pearly in their nature and mode of formation, yet lack the lustre of true pearls. Such occur in the Horse-mussel, Edible Mussel, and even in Quahogs, Clams and Oysters, of which the first two have the nearest true pearls in appearance. Those of the Edible Mussel have had some commercial value in England. In the Mussels of our fresh 12 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. water streams, however, we have pearls produced, of which the value will, no doubt, astonish many of the readers of this: paper. ‘The species producing them have, unfortunately, not been fully worked out, but they belong for the most part to the genus Margaritana. Pearls from fresh-water Mussels are found in Europe, and were known from very early times. Those from our River-mussels have sometimes great beauty; as much as is known of their value will be found in a sub- sequent part of this paper. In many of the East India Islands, the only money which can be used in traffic, consists of the shells of the Cowry (Cyprea monetum). Traders are obliged to provide themselves with a store of it beforehand, and formerly many tons were annually collected and sent to England for the use of traders. This is the most conspicuous example of the use of shells as money, which occurs to us, but many other savage tribes utiliz- ed shells for this purpose. Indians of the west coast of America used species of Huliotis or Ear-shells, and other tribes, strings of Dentaliwm or Tooth-shells. Among the east coast Indians and those of the interior, wampum was the great medium of exchange and was a true currency. White wampum was made from the central column of the shell of two species of Conch (Sycotypus canaliculatus, and Fulgur carica); purple and the more valuable wampum, was made from the purple part of the shell of the Quahog or Round Clam. These were made into beads, not more than half an inch long, which were strung on threads, the threads being sometimes fastened together side by side to form belts. This was very extensively used by the east coast Indians in their traffic with one another and with the whites. In Acadia it appears to have been used more for ornamental and ceremonial purposes than for money. The Passamaquoddies had ‘‘Wampum Records ” as Mr. Leland tells us in his ‘‘Algonquin Legends.” Les- carbot, in his “History of New France, (1609, book VI., chap. XI1.), has left us a most interesting account of its value to the Micmacs, which, as it has apparently escaped the notice of the writers on this subject, is here given in full. “The Brazilians, Floridians and Armouchiquois, [2. ¢., the THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 13° Indians from Kennebec to Cape Cod,| make carcanets and bracelets (called dou-re in Brazil, and matachiaz by our Indians), from the shells of those great sea-shells which are called ViGNOLs and are like unto snails, [7. ¢., the large Conchs,. Sycotypus and Fulgur| which they break and gather up in a thousand pieces, then polish them upon a (hot)* stone, so that they make them very small, and when they have pierced them, they make beads, like to those which we call procelain. Among these beads they mingle alternately other beads, as black as the others I have spoken of are white, made of jet or of certain hard or black woods which resemble it, [meaning probably dark purple wampum, | which they polish and make as small as they wish, and this has a good grace. ‘And if things are to be esteemed for their fashion, as we see exemplified in our merchandise, these collars, scarfs and bracelets of VIGNOLS or porcelain, are more valuable than pearls (netwithstanding no one will believe me in this), for they esteem them more than pearl, gold or silver. As with us, so in this land do the women deck themselves with such things, and will make a dozen turns of it around the neck, hanging upon the breast, and around the wrists and below the elbow. They also hang long chains in their ears, which hang down even as low as their shoulders. If the men wear any it is only some young one who is in love. But at Port Royal and thereabouts, and towards Newfoundland, and at Tadous- sac, where there are neither pearls nor VIGNOLS, the maids and women make matachiaz from the quills or bristles of the porcupine, which they dye with black, white and red colors, as vivid as possible: for our scarlet has no better luster than theirreddye. But they prize much more the matachiaz which comes to them from the land of the Armouchiquois and buy it at a very high price. And since they can get but a little of it, because of the war which these two nations [7.e., the Micmacs and the Armouchiquois, | have always between each other, there is brought to them from France matachiaz made of little tubes of glass mixed with tin or lead, which are *The word used is grez, which is translated by Erondelles, ‘‘ hot stone.” 14 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. traded to them by the fathom-measure for want of an ell- measure.” As Lescarbot points out, the shells from which the white wampum was commonly made, do not occur upon the shores of Acadia, and the Acadian Indians do not appear to have manufactured the purple wampum, though the material for it was abundant on the North Shore. Denys mentions that they wore among their ornaments, ‘‘ white and violet porcelain,” and goes on to say,—‘‘ they make of it also pendants for the ears, which they have pierced in two or three places. This porcelain is nothing else than the teeth (dents) of a certain fish which is taken by the savages in New England, and which is very rare there and at this time is very much valued among them; that which is common now, has each grain of the length of half a finger’s breadth.” Prof. Bailey mentions the occurrence of wampum in an Indian grave on the Tobique, though made, as he thinks, from the shells of Fresh-water Mussels. The most noted dyeing material of ancient or modern times, that which gave the Tyrian Purple, was obtained from Molluses which are closely allied to our Purple-shell (Purpura lapillus). The latter shell, exceedingly abundant on our shores, itself yieldsan unchangeable rich crimson dye, which can easily be obtained. The expense of collecting it, however, is much too great to allow it to be of any commer- cial value. The Long Whelk (Buccinum wndatum) also is said to yield a dye. Of minor uses for shells, there are very many. Several of the large bivalves, notably the Scallops and the great Sea- clam (Mactra) are used by fishermen’s wives and others for dishes. ‘The Acadian Indians made their pottery in part from powdered shells, and no doubt made much use of them as household utensils. Oyster shells are frequently used for road-making in the United States, and of course could be so utilized with us. They are said to be among the best of materials for this purpose. In the United States, shells of various kinds, chiefly Oyster and Scallop, are strewn upon the oyster-beds to give a clean firm surface for the young to -attach themselves to. Oyster-shells are also ground up to be THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 15 given to poultry. From the Squidsa kind of oil can be made, though we believe it has little value commercially. Of the indirectly useful Molluscs, doubtless the most important to man, are those which serve as food for the food- fishes. A list of the Molluscs known to inhabit New England waters, which are eaten by Cod, Haddock and other large fish, is given in the “ History of Useful Aquatic Animals of the United States,” pp. 693, 694 and 703. The majority of the forms there mentioned occur in the waters of Acadia. It may not be amiss to state here, that the stomachs of fishes are fine hunting-ground for the conchologist, many species being found in them, which are rare, or inaccessible in other ways. Indirectly also those Molluscs are beneficial to man, which, by forming great tough beds, as the Edible Mussels do, protect easily eroded sea-coasts from being washed away ; which bore into and ultimately remove reefs and wrecks which are a bar to safe navigation, as doesthe Zeredo and its allies; and those which are beneficial to the oyster industries, the most import- ant of which is the Periwinkle (Littorina litorea), and some others. Among the injurious Mollusca, the Ship-worms must take first place. Species of Zeredo are found all over the world, but are most destructive in warm waters. They bore into and destroy any kind of timber that is under the surface in pure salt water. Hence, wharves, ships, bnoys, breakwaters, are all attacked, and naturalists and engineers have been put to their wits’ ends to study their habits and find a remedy. In the following pages will be found some account of their results. In Acadian waters we have some three or four species; they are most troublesome upon the North Shore and Cape Breton coast, where the warmer summer temperature affords better conditions for the development of the young, than does the much colder water of the Atlantic and Bay of Fundy shores. ‘Those Molluscs which bore into stone (Pholas and allies) have never done any damage upon our shores. Among those which may be called indirectly injurious, are those which are destructive to oyster-beds. In American waters there are a number of these, the chief of which is the a6 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADTA. Drill (Buccinuwm cinereum), which is present upon our own North Shore. This Mollusc does great damage in the United States, but little on our oyster-beds. Indeed, as elsewhere pointed out, the chief oyster enemies of the United States are either absent altogether from our waters, or do but little damage—a circumstance of great advantage to future cultur- ists. Other indirectly injurious Molluscs are the Squids, which destroy large number of herring and other small fish. It will -of course be evident that an animal may be, at different times and in different ways, both beneficial and injurious, Is it not remarkable that the first attempt at mollusc-culture in Acadian waters was contemporaneous with its first settlement in 1604? It was so, though in a rudimentary form. Lescar- bot, in describing DeMont’s settlement at St. Croix Island (Dochet Island of to-day), says: ‘* There is also a little chapel built after the fashion of the savages, at the foot of which there is such a store of mussels as is wonderful, which may be gathered at low tide, but they are small. I believe that Monsieur DeMont’s people did not forget to choose and take the biggest and left there but the small ones to grow and increase.” ‘Thus was one of the axioms of modern mollusc- -culture observed by the first settlers on the shores of Acadia. Nothing more, even of this simple kind, seems to have been done until the experiments of Hon. Mr. MacFarlane, in Nova Scotia, and Hon. Mr. Pope, in Prince Edward Island, to be spoken of in connection with the Oyster. The need of mollusc-culture for the present time in Acadia, resolves itself into the need of oyster-culture. No other Mollusc on our shores is fished to anywhere near its limit of natural productiveness, much less beyond it. But as our food-molluscs came to be extensively used, as they ultimately must, regulations of the fishery should be enforced from the first, and not after the supply verges on exhaustion. In the case of the Oyster, there is need of immediate and vigorous government interference, not only for the protection of the present beds, but for the encouragement of the plant- ing of newones. ‘To culturists there must be given not only THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 17 an absolute right to the products of their labor and protection from trespassers, but even, if necessary, positive encouragement in the way of bounties, until Oyster-culture shall become an established industry of the Dominion. Canada does not now produce more than a fraction of the Oysters she uses; it is soon to become a question of deriving the greater part of her supply frem cultivated beds in the United States or from cultivated beds in Canada, for the natural beds of the United States are rapidly becoming exhausted, and attention is being directed towards culture. Something should be said here as to the distribution of Molluses in our waters. It will be noticed by those who read the following pages, that many forms are spoken of which occur in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and not elsewhere north of ‘Cape Cod; others occur in the Bay of Fundy, the distribution of which is circumpolar or arctic. These are two among very many facts which indicate a curious distribution of animal life in Acadian waters. In the southern part of the Gulf, all along the North Shore of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and all around the coast of Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton, occur animals of species identical with those living to the south of Cape Cod, and in most cases they do not occur in numbers between those localities. The Oyster, Quahog, Drill (Urosalpinz), Plicated Mussel, are all examples of this, and many others might be mentioned which do not fall with- in the limits of this paper. In the Bay of Fundy and on the -coast of Nova Scotia, south of Chebucto Bay, on the other hand, the forms are decidely northern, the uniformly cold water of that region not allowing of the development of the young of such southern forms as can thrive in the Gulf. In the latter, the shallow waters, little disturbed by tides, can become very warm during the summer, and favorable con- ‘ditions thus being provided for the young, the adults survive them in spite of the cold of winter. For the origin of this condition of affairs we must look to geological causes, the discussion of which is not in place here. The substance of it is, that in times recent geologically (certainly post-glacial), an 18 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. elevation of the land in this region threw the Labrador current off from the coast and allowed the water inside the Banks, then near the surface, to become warmed up in summer, as it is to-day in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. These forms then crept northward and all the coast from Virginia to Newfound- land was occupied by them. ‘The land is now sinking; cold currents are coming back to our shores and the southern animals cannot hold their own against the northern, which are better fitted for the new conditions. It is probable that ultimately all of these southern forms will become extinct in the Gulf, but the time is so remote that the practical man need not take it into his calculations. It should be hardly necessary to call attention to the fact here, that there is yet very much to be learned about the distribution of Molluscs and other animals upon our shores; about their habits, their relations to other animals, their use- fulness and noxiousness to man. Even in the matter of their value and palatableness as food there is much need of informa- tion. There is an abundance of work for every observer to do, and teachers who interest themselves and their pupils in such subjects will be repaid many fold, not only by the facts observed and training acquired, but by their further initiation into the spivit of nature and their refreshment by the pure air of new fields, both figurative and literal. In the following list, the nomenclature adopted is not in all cases that of the latest authorities, though such names are always given in the synonymy. The scientific name given first is usually that of Binney’s Edition of Gould’s Invertebrata of Massachusetts, though in certain instances where the latter is clearly erroneous, as in the Cephalopods, those of other writers are followed. The work mentioned is the only one extant which gives an account of our Mollusca, and, unfor- tunately, is rare and expensive, though it is to be found in most scientific libraries. Those who wish scientific descrip- tions and figures should turn to it, and there they will find references to other works of importance. The list of works given below includes only those consulted in the preparation of this paper. THE ECONOMIC MOLI.USCA OF ACADIA. 19 An interesting part of the present subject is that of local names for our Mollusca. As soon as a species comes to be much used, it requires a special distinctive name, and such the fishermen generally give it. Asso few of our own Molluscs are utilized for any purpose, very few of them have common names, and in such cases we have felt at liberty to adopt for those lacking them, the best of those by which they are known to English fishermen. The writer would be very thankful for any information which could be given him as to local names applied to Mollusca in any part of these pro- vinces. We believe no explanation is needed of the use of the word Acadia throughout this paper. The three maritime provinces are, zoologically, botanically and geologically one, and a term by which they can be collectively designated is a necessity in scientific if not other writing. Several writers on the natural history of the region have employed the word Acadia, and what more appropriate name can ever be used? WorKS OF REFERENCE. Descriptive Catalogue of the Fishes of Nova Scotia. By Taomas F. Knicut. Halifax, 1866, 8vo, 54 pp. Pp. 43 to 54 treat of ‘‘ Edible Mollusca of Nova Scotia.” [This part dealing with Mollusca is in reality by Willis, for Mr. Knight says: ‘‘ The author is indebted to J. R. Willis, Esq., of Halifax, for the following ample description of our Edible Mollusca, which has already been published in a colonial peri- odical.” Can any of our readers tell us what this periodical was, and its date? We have not been able to find any trace of it.] Mollusca of Nova Scotia. By J. MatrHEw Jones. Proc. and Trans. of Nova Scotian Institute of Nat. Science. Vol. IV., Part III., 1877, pp. 321-330. Zur Fauna von Neu-Schotland (Nova Scotia) und Newfound- land. By T. A. VeRKRUZEN. Jahr. der Deutschen Malak. Gesell. Vol. V., 1878, pp. 208-230. 2 20 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. The Marine Mollusca of New Brunswick. By W. F. GanonG. Bull. Nat. Hist. Soc. of N. B., No. VI., 1887, pp. 17-61. Report on the Invertebrata of Massachusetts. By A. A, GouLp. 2d edition, edited by W. G. BINNEY. Boston, 1870, 8vo, vill.+524 pp., 12 plates and very many woodcuts. Report on the Invertebrate Animals of Vineyard Sound, etc. By A. E. Verritt. Rep. U. S. Fish Commis- ston for 1871-72, pp. 295-778, 38 plates. British Conchology. By J. Gwyn JEFFREYS. 5 vols. London, 1862-69. Edible Molluscs of Great Britain and Ireland, with Receipts for Cooking them. By LOVELL REEVE. Lon- don, 8vo. pp. 210, date (?) [Not seen by the writer]. Commercial Products of the Sea. By P. L. Stumonps. New York, 1879, 8vo, vili.+484 pp., woodcuts. Harvest of the Sea. By J. G. BERTRAM. 2d ed. Lon- don. 1869. Contributions to the Knowledge of the Chemical Com- position and Nutritive Values of American Food-fishes and Invertebrates. By W. O. AtwaTEeR. Sep. U.S. Fish Commission for 1883, pp. 433-499. A Review of the Fishing Industries of the United States. By G. Brown GoopE. London, 1883, 8vo, 84 pp. (Fishery Exhibition Literature, Vol VI.) Catalogue of the Economic Mollusca, etc., exhibited by the United States National Museum at the Interna- tional Fisheries Exhibition. By Lieut. FRANCIS Winstow. Bull. U. S. National Museum, No. 27. 1884, pp. 185-270. Also a list by G. BRowN GOODE, in Bull. No. 14, 1879, pp. 251-259. Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States. ByG. Brown GoopeE and others. Section I. History of Useful Aquatic Animals. Section V., Vol. II. The Oyster, Scallop, Clam, Mussel and Abalone Industries. Washington, 4°, 1884, and later. Fisheries Exhibition Literature, London, 1883-84. 16 vols. THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA., a1 I wish here also, to return a grateful acknowledgment to those gentlemen whose kindness to me in replying to my enquiries has added much to the completeness of this paper. To Mr. John Tilton, Deputy Minister of Fisheries, for copies of Fishery Reports; to Mr. J. H. Duvar, Inspector of Fisheries in Prince Edward Island, and my friend Mr. 8. W. Kain, of St. John, for much information I am particularly indebted. Mr. H. Piers, of Halifax, Mr. J. A. Tarner, of St. John, and Mr. John Sharp of Summerside, have also patiently answered my troublesome enquiries, for which I am sincerely thankful to them. The Micmac names of Molluscs have been taken verbatim from Dr. Silas T. Rand’s ‘‘ First Reading Book in the Micmac Language.” The Milicete, or, more properly, Passamaquoddy, names have for the most part been given me by Mr. H. Lyle, of St. Stephen. Figures 3, 5 to 17, 19 and ‘21 are from Binney’s Gould. Figure 4 is reduced from the same. Figures 18, 20, 22 are from Verrill’s Report on In- vertebrates of Vineyard Sound. Figures 1 and 2 are reduced from the latter’s Monograph on Cephalopods of North-eastern Coast of America. All have been reproduced by the Helio- type Company of Boston. 22 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. Section II]. A List oF THOSE MOLLUSCS OF THE WATERS OF" ACADIA WHICH ARE USEFUL OR INJURIOUS: To MAN. ANALYSIS. A. UszEFuL MoLuusca. (a) Directly useful. 1. As food. See Ostrea Virginiana Mya arenaria, Mya truncata. Pecten tenuicostatus, Pecten Islandicus. Pecten irradians. Venus mercenaria, Mytilus edulis. Modiola modiolus. Solen ensis. Mactra solidissima. Mactra ovalis, Cuprina Islandica. Zirphea crispata. Cardium Islandicum. Littorina litorea. Lunatia heros. Buccinum undatum. Fusus Islandicus. Fusus decemcostatus, 2. As bait in the fisheries. See Ommastrephes illecebrosa.. Loligo Pealei. Mya arenaria, Mya truncata, Mytilus edulis. Mactra solidissima. Macetra ovalis. Buccinum undatum.. Purpura lapillus. B. THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 3. As fertilizers. See Ostrea Virginiana. Mytilus edulis. Modiola plicatula. Ommastrephes illecebrosa. Loligo Pealei. 4, For ornaments, including pearl. See Margaritana. Venus mercenaria, Mytilus edulis, Modiola modiolus. Cardium Islandicum. Pecten tenuicostatus, Mactr a solidissima. Buccinum undatum. Fusus Islandicus. Fusus decemcostatus. 5. For money. See Venus mercenaria. 6. For dyes. See Purpura lapillus, Buccinum undatum. 'Y. Fordishes and minor uses. See Ostrea Virginiana. Pecten tenuicostatus, Mactra sotidissima. Mytilus edulis. (6) Indirectly useful. (1) As food for fishes. See Introduction of this paper, p. 15. (2) Protection of coasts from erosion, etc. See Mytilus edulis. Modiola modiolus. (8) Removal of wrecks and obstructions to navigation. See Teredo navalis. (4) Of value to oyster beds. See Littorina litorea. IngurRiIous MoLuusca. (a) Directly injurious. 1. Destructive to sub-marine timber. See Teredo navalis. Teredo norvagica, Terédo dilatata, Aylophaga dorsalis, 23 a4 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.. 2. Molluscs occasionally poisonous. ale See Mytilus edulis, Modiola modiolus, Pecten tenuicostatus, (6) Indirectly injurious. Destructive to oyster beds. See Buccinum cinereum, Purpura lapillus, Lunatia heros. Mutilus edulis. 2. Destructive to young fish. See Ommastrephes illecebrosa. Loligo Pealei. Class CEPHALOPODA. 1. Ommastrephes illecebrosa (Lesueur) Verrill. Ommastrephes sagittatus Ferussac. [Verrill thinks that this species is not identical with the European O. Sagittatus. The Loligo Bartramii of Stimpson, in his Synopsis of the Marine Invertebrata of Grand Manan is this species. | Squid, Short-finned Squid, Sea-arrow, Flying Calamary. Micmac, Sedaasoo-k. Passamaquoddy, Sah tah sis. Acadian French, Alcorne. {Ommastrephes, turning its eyes; illecebrosa, very attractive. ] DisTRIBUTION. (a) General ;—Rhode Island to Cumber- land Gulf. (b) In Acadia;—Abundant around the entire coast of the three Provinces. Verrill says it is ‘‘abundant from Cape Cod to Newfoundland.” j THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 2D Hasirs. The Squid is easily recognized and is one of the best known of our Molluscs. It is the most highly organized of the group, and in its appearance and most of its habits, resembles a fish rather than what it really is. The body is cylindrical, tapering to a point at the posterior end, and in front bears a head which has ten arms arranged in a ring around the mouth. These arms bear sucking disks on their inner sides, in the two longer near their extremities only, and in the other eight quite to their bases. The mouth is arm- ed with a stout horny beak similar to that of aparrot. The large and very bright eyes are on diametrically opposite sides of the head; they have lids and around pupil. The neck is well marked, sharply separating the head from the body. On the under side of the latter, projecting forward, is a stout process with an opening at its apex which might be mistaken for a mouth, It is the opening of the tube or siphon by which water is drawn into and expelled from a sac inside the body, this being, as will be explained below, its locomotive apparatus. At the posterior end, attached on the dorsal side, is the broad caudal fin which extends a little more than a third (about two-fifths) of the length of the body proper. It extends out laterally on each side of the latter and is shaped like the quad- rant of a circle, the arc being to the front and the two radii sloping to the extreme pos- Fie. 1.—Ommastrephes il- terior end. An average specimen is fourteen lecebrosa. | Young male, inches in extreme length, the body proper size. being eight inches; length of fin about three inches; body one and one- half inches in diameter. In the interior on the back of the animal, and running the entire length of the body, is a translucent, horny pen-shaped structure, called the “pen.” This is in reality the shell, reduced and carried inward nstead of covering the outside of the animal, The color is variable in the extreme. The ground color is pale bluish-white, and in the skin are many chromatophores, or cells. containing colored pigments, any set of which can be expanded or contracted at the will of the animal. It isthus that the rapid changes. of color are caused—red, orange and brown seeming to predominate im this species. Prof. Verrill says:—‘‘ The colors change constantly, whem 26 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. living or recently dead, by means of the continual contraction and dilation of the chromatophores. The different tints pass over the surface like blushes.” The Squid, so well named Sea-arrow, is extremely swift and grace- ful in its movements. It swims by the forcible ejection of water from its siphon, the reaction driving the animal backward with great velocity. ‘The arms pressed close together, trail out behind, and the fin, used to balance or steady the body when the animal is moving slowly, is wound tightly around it when it goes swiftly. But the siphon can be pointed backward and the animal go forward, when necessary, though it does so much less easily than it can go backward. It lives upon young herring or mackerel, following the schools in to the coast. It takes these fish by darting in among them, turning suddenly to one side, and seizing one which it kills by a bite in the back of the neck. Squid move in schools, and are most active at night. They often come ashore in large numbers, on account, no doubt of their running backwards. When much alarmed they discharge with the water from the siphon an inky fluid which blackens the water around. It is eaten by many fishes. Nothing is as yet known of its breeding habits. Professor Verrill, arguing from the structure of the reproductive parts, believes it will be found that the eggs are cast free into the ocean, and float singly or in masses on the surface. Economics. Fifteen or twenty years ago the Squid would hardly have found a place in a paper of this character. Its great, almost its only, use is as a bait for cod and other large fish, and it is only of late years that it has come to be so ex- tensively used. In Newfoundland, especially, it is taken in enormous quantities, both for the use of the native fishermen and for sale to those of the United States. It is the chief reliance of the latter for their fishing on the Grand Banks; for though they bring salted clams or other bait, Squid are always preferred. They are mostly caught by native fisher- men, who sell them for from twenty-five to forty-five cents per hundred. The French have vessels specially devoted to taking and delivering it. There are no statistics to show the extent to which it is used; but one writer states that the number annually used by United States vessels alone would “be reckoned high in the tens of millions.” Mr. Ingersoll estimates that five hundred vessels and boats are annually engaged in taking Squid for bait. In the United States it is at present rarely or not at all taken for this purpose. THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 27 In Canada it is fast assuming great importance, as the following table will show. ‘They are officially considered to be worth $4.00 per barrel, though in certain instances much higher prices are quoted. To find the number of barrels divide the value by four. VALUE OF SQUID TAKEN IN THE MARITIME PROVINCES FROM 1881 To 1887. 1881. | 1882. | 1888. | 1884. | 1885. | 1886. | 1887. New Brunsw’k}...... $ 500/$ ORF 1,972/$ 1,392\$ 2,256/$ 2,816 Nova Scotia. . ./$9,600) 18,200} 17,464] 10,782) 12,556) 17,576) 121,280 Total, ... ./$9,600/$13, 700|$17,672| $12, 704| $13,948 $19,832) $124,096 Prince Edward Island sends no returns. In New Bruns- wick they are caught chiefly in Charlotte and Gloucester counties, and in Nova Scotia in Guysborough, Halifax, Vic- toria and Inverness counties. Large quantities are also taken on the Coast of Quebec from the St. Lawrence River to Blanc Sablon in Labrador. The Squid is universally taken by means of a “‘jig.” Thisis a cylindrical piece of lead two inches long, having an eye at its upper end, and at its lower a circle of radially arranged, unbaited hooks with the points upwards. These are moved up and down in the midst of the schools of Squid, and when one is hooked (no bait is used) it is quickly drawn up. In using it for bait it is usually cut into three pieces, thus bait- ing three hooks. When possible it is used fresh, but upon long voyages it has to be salted. It is the best bait for cod iknown to the fishermen. In addition to its use as bait it has been employed in New- foundland as a fertilizer. Ordinarily, it is far too valuable to ‘be used for this purpose, but when great masses of them are thrown upon the beaches, as they sometimes are, it would be -well for the farmers in the vicinity to remember that they 28 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. have this value. Its use as food is not unknown. Rev. Philip Tocque, in his work on Newfoundland, speaking apparently of this species, says: ‘The Red Indians of New- foundland esteemed it a great delicacy, it being eaten raw by them. It is rarely eaten by the inhabitants of Newfoundland, being generally considered unfit for food. It is, however, a. well-flavored fish, and is excellent either boiled or fried ; it. tastes much like the large claws of the lobster.” As is well known, it is from the ink of an allied form that: the India ink of commerce is obtained. We cannot find that any experiments have been tried to determine the value of this species for that purpose. Probably it would not pay to: capture it especially for this, but if worth while the ink bags. of those used in the fisheries could be saved, the fishermen putting all good ones aside as the Squid are cut up for bait. It is interesting in this connection to note that it was long ago upon our own shores considered good food. Denys in his. ** Histoire Naturelle” of 1672, speaking of the Squid in Acadia, says: ‘*The Squid [Leucornet] is another fish formed about like the cuttle-fish. It has arms around the head of the length of half a foot or thereabouts, with which it takes fish for food. To capture it a fire is made on the shore at the: edge of the water. At night on the flood tide it comes towards. the land and, leaving the sea, lands high and dry upon the beach which is often found quite covered with it. It is about a foot in length, quite round, larger in the middle than at the ends; the end of the tail is pointed at which there is a border of two fingers in size all around, like a little round shield. It is good to eat roasted, boiled and fried ; it makes the black sauce just as do the Calamaries in France, which are little cuttle fishes. These fishes are found there in the sea as large as hogsheads. These latter never come to land, where only the little ones are seen in the spring and autumn.” n the latter sentence we have apparently a reference to the giant cuttle-fish of Newfoundland, lately described by Prof. Verrill. The entire description shows an accuracy of observa- tion which is quite surprising, considering the time and the little attention then paid to such matters. THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 29) WORKS oF REFERENCE. The Cephalopods of the North-eastern Coast of America. By A. E. Verrity. Part II., The Smaller Cephalopods. Trans. Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. V., 1880, pp. 259-446. Also in Rep. U.S. Fish Commis- sion for 1879 (published 1882), pp. 211-450. Also short paper in American Naturalist, Vol. VIII., 1874, pp. 167-174. The Squid of the Newfoundland Banks in its relation to the: American Grand Bank Cod Fisheries. By H. L. OsBorn. American Naturalist, Vol. XV., 1881, pp. 366-372. Natural History of Useful Aquatic Animals. Pp. 687, e¢ seq. 2. Loligo Pealei Lesueur. Long-finned Squid. [Loligo, the ancient name; Pealei, for R. Peale of Philadelphia. ] DisTRIBUTION. (a) General ;—South Carolina to Massa- chusetts Bay. Cape Ann, St. Croix River. (0) In Acadia ;—St. Croix River. [In June, 1886, the writer found two specimens of this- species in a weir at the Devil’s Head in the St. Croix River.. The only other evidence of its presence in our waters that we hare been able to gather, has been obtained from Mr. Henry Frye, of Frye’s Island, Charlotte County, a close and accurate observer of all such matters. He says that we have in our waters two kinds of Squid, the ‘‘short-tailed and the long-tailed.” The former must be O. illecebrosa, and the latter can be only the species we are considering. It had not previously been known to naturalists to occur north of Cape Ann, and its distribution and relative abundance in our waters are entirely unknown. It is altogether likely that the specimens from the St. Croix River belong to the variety BorwALIS of Verrill, which the latter established for his specimens from Cape Ann, and which he calls ‘‘nothing more than a local or geographical variety.” | 30 TH# ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. Hasits. In appearance the long-finned Squid differs little from the short-finned, the most marked difference being indicated by their names. In ZL. Pealet, the caudal fin ex- tends over one half the length of the body, clearly distinguishing it from O. illecebrosa, in which it is not more than two-fifths of that length. The ‘‘pen” in the former is much broader than in the latter, The eggs are laid in gelatinous capsules, attached to some sup- port. Economics. It is of precisely the same use to man as the last species, though from its more southern range, it is little used for bait. It is the common Squid south of Cape Cod. It has been tried as food by the New York Ichthyo- phagous Club, and pronounced ‘‘rather tasteless.” WoRKS OF REFERENCE. As for O. illecebrosa. Fie. 2.—Loligo Pealei. Female, one-third of natural size. Class GASTEROPODA. 3. Fusus decemcostatus Say. Tritonium decemcostatum Midd. Neptunea despecta Lin., var. carinata. Neptunea decemcostata Say. Ten-ribbed Spindle-shell. [Fusus, a spindle; decemcostatus, ten-ribbed.] DiIstRIBUTION. (a) Géneral;—l.ow-water mark to forty fathoms. Cape Cod to Sable Island. THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. ail (0) In Acadia;—(in N. B.) Grand Manan, low-water: mark to forty fathoms, Stimpson. [/Etang Harbor and Passamaquoddy Bay, Ganong. Particularly large, fine and abundant about low-water mark at Hospital Island, Passa- maquoddy Bay; (in N, 8.) Annapolis Basin, abundant, Verkruzen. MUalfax Harbor, Jones. LaHave Bank, Jones (on authority of Verrill.) Sable Island, Gould (on authority of Willis). Not yet reported from Prince Edward Island or the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Probably rather common in sand and mud on the Bay of Fundy coast, and perhaps less so on the Atlantic shores. May be very rare or quite wanting in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Hasits. This isavery striking shell, and one easily distinguished from all others by its ten raised revolving ribs. The ground color isa dul}, fulvous or yellowish-red, but the ribs are darker. Of these there can always be counted nine, generally zen and rarely more on the lower whorl, of which only two, rarely three, revolve on the upper whorls. The ribs being large and very solid, give the shell a handsome fluted appearance. The lower end tapers to a canal. It is about three inches in length, though frequently somewhat larger. It seems to prefer mud & and sana bottoms in rather shal- low water on our coasts, rather than rocks in deep water as Gould suggests. In L’Etang Harbor it is often dredged with mud, but occurs in greatest per- fection and beauty in the clean sand and clear water about low- water mark, at Hospital or Little Hardwood Island in Passama- quoddy Bay. There it lives half- burrowing in the sand,with only its Sune projecting at Wa and Big. 3. —Fusus decemeostatus. ..Nataral leaving deep furrows behind as size. it works its way along. Specimens from this locality are very cleam and bright and show no trace of the parasitic growths which: D2 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. seem to be always present on specimens from mud bottoms. We do not know what it feeds upon, but it is probably carnivorous like Becinuum undatum. Economics. It is an excellent article of food. Willis tells us that it is ‘‘much scarcer and more esteemed as an article of food than Fusus Jslandicus.” We do not find that it is ever eaten by the fishermen or offered for sale in our markets. On the Bay of Fundy coast at least, it is more abundant than / Jslandicus, and as it lives near low-water mark, and is not solitary, but gregarious, it may be gathered in larger quantities than the last mentioned species. Never- theless it is too scarce to be of much commercial value. 4, Fusus Islandicus Gould. Fusus curtus Jeffreys. Tritonium Islandicum Lovén. Neptunea curta Verrill. Sipho Islandicus Chemn. Spindle-shell. [Fusus, a spindle; Islandicus, Icelandic. | DISTRIBUTION. (a) General ;—Low-water mark to eighty fathoms. Massachusetts Bay to Labrador, and (if identical with European form) North European Seas to Great Britain. (b) In Acadia;—(in N. B.) Grand Manan, low-water mark 1o forty fathoms, Stimpson. Bay of Fundy, low-water mark to eighty fathoms, Verrill. Passamaquoddy Bay, Ganong. ‘Gulf of St. Lawrence, over one hundred fathoms, Verrid/. (in N. S.) Annapolis Basin, abundant, Verkruzen. Halifax Harbor, Jones. Pretty common in deep water around the coast, Willis. Not yet reported from Prince Edward Island. Probably nowhere very abundant, though to be found on all the Bay of Fundy and Atlantic coast. Hasrits. This is the species described by Dr. Gould, under the above name, but it is now generally considered that it is a distinct species and should be called F. curtus. It is so closely allied to the European F. Jslandicus, however, that it is undoubtedly useful for the same purposes. THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 33 The common name of this species is very appropriate, for it tapers ‘to both ends. The shell is very graceful, being symmetrically spired above and prolonged into a slender curved canal below. It is of a dull bluish-white color when deprived of its thin horn- ‘colored epidermis, and is white within. The whorls ae show a few revolving lines, The animal is white, with small irregular specks of black, It is usually about three inches in length when full-grown. But little is known of its habits. It probably lives upon animal food. It occupies rocky bottoms, generally in water from thirty to fifty fathoms in depth, though in the Bay of Fundy the strong tides afford it at low-water mark the cold water it needs. It never lives in schools, but singly, on which ac- count it is difficult to obiain it in any quantity, and being comparatively scarce it can never be of much value, ICONOMICS. It may be used as food. Willis says of it: ‘‘ Parties who have eaten Fie. 4.—Fusus Islan- it inform me that they consider it quite a @écus. One-half delicacy.” We do not find that it is ever 1 ™atural size. eaten by the fishermen, and it is never for sale in any of our markets. It would doubtless form good bait for cod, pollock, etc. ‘The shells are used as mantel ornaments in fishermen’s houses. 5, Buccinum cinereum Say. Urosalpine cinerea St. Drill, Borer, Snail-bore. [Buccinum, a trumpet; cinerea, ashy.] DISTRIBUTION. (a) General;—About low-water mark and in shallow water. Coast of Florida to Massachussets Bay. ‘Casco Bay, Gulf of St. Lawrence. (d) In Acadia;—Southern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Verrill. Prince Edward Island, Dawson. Distribution pro- ‘bably coincides with that of the Oyster, though it seems to ‘be nowhere abundant. Hasits. It is a very rough, dull-colored shell, looking not very unlike Buccinum wndatum, but is smaller, rougher and generally lighter in color. It is longer in proportion to its breadth, has the revolving 34 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. lines more marked and tapers to both ends. The adult is about am inch in length. It has, like other Gasteropod Molluscs, a ‘‘ tongue ’” or lingual ribbon, set with sharp siliceous teeth. This. ribbon can be moved back and forth so that its acts like a file. It is so arranged that it moves in the are of a vertical circle, and by its use the animal can bore a clean round hole through an Oyster-shell: then by means: of its proboscis it can suck out the juices of its victim. It deposits its eggs in short-stalked capsules on the under surfaces of stones. It lives chiefly upon Oysters, but to some extent upon other Mollusca. It is said not to attack the Mussels. Fia.5.— Bucecin- um cinereum. Economics. This Mollusc is of importance Naturalsize. ty) man on account of its destructiveness to Oysters. Other Gasteropod Mollusca,such as Purpura, Natica, Nassa, etc., also prey upon Oysters, but their combined ravages are unimportant compared with those of this species. It is very destructive to the beds on the coast of Long Island and New Jersey, and in the Chesapeake. Once having attacked a bed. it is almost impossible to get rid of it, Dredging with fine-meshed dredges and the careful destruc- tion of their eggs wherever found in shallow water, seem to be the methods adopted and recommended for keeping them down. They do not spread rapidly, and its careful removal from seed Oysters in planting new beds would do much to prevent its spread. They seem at times to make sudden and combined attacks on the beds in certain localities. Damage to the extent of tens of thousands of dollars annually is done to the beds in the localities mentioned above. Such is the case in the United States. But upon our own North Shore we may congratulate ourselves on its com- parative scarcity. It seems to do but little damage there. This is doubtless due to the fact that it is a rock-loving species, and the sandy character of the shore is unfavorable to it. In the United States it is chiefly troublesome in rocky situations. We have here another exemplification of the excellence of our North Shore for purposes of Oyster culture, and another protest against our improvidence and lack of wisdom in allowing our splendid opportunities not only to lie unimproved, but to be positively misused. THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 35 Works oF REFERENCE. E. Ingersoll. ‘‘ History and Present Condition of the Fishery Industries,” U.S. 10th Census, pp. 232-233; also, ‘‘ Naturalh History of Useful Aquatic Animals,” p. 697. 6. Buccinum undatum [Linneus. Whelk, Long Whelk. {Buccinum, a trumpet; wndatum, waved. ] DISTRIBUTION. (a) General;—Above low-water mark to six hundred and fifty fathoms (Verrill); New Jersey to Arctic Ocean and around North Atlantic to Great Britain and France. (b) In Acadia;—(in N. B.) abundant everywhere on Char- lotte County Coast; Northumberland Strait, Whiteaves. (In N. 8.) Annapolis Basin, moderately abundant, Verkruzen: whole coast, Jones. Prince Edward Island, Dawson. Probably abundant around the entire coast of the three provinces, Hasits. It has been considered by some writers that our common shore Whelk is not the same species as the Buccinum undatum of Europe. But those who have given the question the most recent and most careful study consider them identical; and in any event, it does not matter for our present purpose which is the case. They are so nearly alike in all respects that they are one so far as their uses to man are concerned. As would be expected from the great variety of conditions as to temperature, depth, freshness of water, etc., under which it is found, this species is quite variable in form, size and color. Yet it presents characteristics which enable it to be always readily distinguished when once a student becomes acquaint- ed with it. The only littoral shell with which it can be confounded is Purpura lapillus, Fic. 6.—Buccinum undatum. But, unless quite young, it is much Baeeaeee: larger than the Jatter, an average size being three inches in length. 3 36 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. The ‘‘waves” or rounded longitudinal ridges on the whorls also, twelve or thirteen on each, are but rarely or never seen in P. /apillus. Another good distinguishing character, which seems to remain constant for all sizes and ages, consists in the shape of the lowest part of the free edge of the opening, the apex being considered the upper end of the shell. In P. lapillus this is more or less angular, and never lower than the lowest point of the columella or central pillar around which the whorls are wound. In B. undatum, on the other hand, it is always evenly rounded, and always a little lower than the extremity of the columella. The epidermis is generally yellowish, though variable, and the interior of the shell is frequently of a beautiful golden-yellow. It has been known to grow to a length of more than six inches. The Whelk is not at all particular as to the kind of shore or bottom it inhabits, or as to its depth. Near low-water mark on our coast, it may be found in mud, sand, gravel, or rocks, feeding chiefly on animal food. At Oak Bay, Charlotte County, they occur in perfec- tion, and their habits may there readily be studied. They are frequently seen at that place feeding upon dead fish, and it is chiefly through their fondness for such food that they are captured in England and Ireland. There round wicker baskets, a footin diameter, with a hole in the top, baited with cod or other fish, arranged to allow them to get in but not out, are lowered in from five to fifty fathoms of water, and drawn up and emptied at intervals, much as our lobster-traps are. Other methods are, to lower a baited hoop-net, two feet in diameter, or a long line on which small crabs are strung. The Whelks cling to either of these and are readily captured. They must be kept alive for bait. It appears that its love for cod is fully reciprocated, for they are eaten in great numbers by that and other fish, for which it is consequently a very valuable and attractive bait. We do not know that it has been observed perforating other shells as Natica and Purpura do. It can live in quite brackish water, Its eggs are laid in lens-shaped capsules, one-fourth of an inch in diameter, each containing many eggs. Great numbers of capsules are deposited together, forming large irregular rounded masses, which are attached to stones or seaweed below low-water mark. The young have the shell well developed before they leave the capsules. Economics. This is a Foud-mollusc of very great im- portance in Great Britain. In Vol. VI. of the Fisheries Exhibition Literature we are told, ‘‘ The edible Whelk is considered a very nutritious and strengthening food, and is always free from poisonous matter. I have heard fishermen say that a dish of Whelks does them as much good as a beefsteak.” It may be bought in all the coast towns of Eng- THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 37 land and Scotland, and is esteemed as a luxury by the poorer classes of London. To show the importance of this Mollusc in Great Britain, it may be said that asandy flat in Whitstable Bay was estimated in 1866 to yield £12,000 worth of Whelks annually, a part of the product being sold in London markets for food and the remainder sent to the cod-fishing banks for bait. The Great Grimsby fishery is valued annually at £22,- 500. For food, they are best in August and September, but are in season all the year round. It is said they should be used the day after being captured, but if boiled they will keep several days. Many vessels are engaged in their capture. In the United States it does not appear to be eaten, and is used to only a limited extent, if at all, for bait. Dr. Robert Bell tells us, however, that it has been used for bait along the lower St. Lawrence. In Acadia it does not appear to be known at all as food. Mr. Willis says that though abundant in Nova Scotia, it was rarely used as food.* He tells us further that,—‘It is said to be quite as nutritious and delicate, by those who have used it, as the species which is found on the British coast.” It is never exposed for sale in our markets, and is unknown even by name to dealers in St. John. We do not find that it is used by our fishermen to any extent as bait. In Europe, the fishermen call the eggs ‘‘sea-wash_ balls,” and as they form a lather with salt water, use them, when found, instead of soap for washing their hands. The shells are sometimes used as a decoration for the borders of flower beds and for other similar purposes in places near the sea. It is asserted in the ‘‘ Natural History of Useful Aquatic Animals,” {p. 699), that this species has been the subject of successful experiments for the obtaining of dyes, though we are not given any particulars. Is it not a remarkable fact that a fishery of so great value in Europe should be entirely neglected here? There can be no doubt, however, that in the course of time the Whelks will come to be extensively used in Acadia. This will come *Recipes for cooking B. undatum may be found in Tryon’s Manual of Con- chology, Vol. IIL, pp. 179, 180. 38 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. to pass as the country becomes more populous, and as our poor classes become poorer, as the history of civilization tells us they must. It is chiefly by the poorer classes that the Whelk is used in England. When the fishery does begin to become of importance, regulations for its protection should be enforced from the first. In England, the only restriction that is found to be needed, is as to the taking of the young; those under one and three-fourths inches long must be re- turned to the water. %. Purpura lapillus (Lin.) Lamarck. Purple-shell, Dog-periwinkle, Dog-whelk. [Purpura, Tyrian-purple shell ; lapillus, a little stone.] DISTRIBUTION. (a) General;—Between tide marks and in very shallow water. Long Island (rare South of Cape Cod): to the Arctic Ocean; around the North Atlantic to Northern Europe and south to the coast of Africa. North-eastern coast of Asia to Japan; Sitka, Alaska, and possibly south to: California. (b) In Acadia;—(in N. B.) Very abundant on the Bay of Fundy coast from Grand Manan to St. John and probably much further. Not reported from the North Shore, but surely occurs there. (In N.S.) Annapolis Basin, abundant, Verkruzen; all rocky shores, Jones; Prince Edward Island, Dawson. Probably occurs everywhere on our coasts in rocky places and tolerably clear water. Haspits. So variable is the shell of this animal, and so few con- stant characters does it present that it is difficult to describe it. It is, without doubt, the most variable shore shell we have. Sometimes, when living in very sheltered places, it is nearly as thin as this paper; again, when exposed on rocky reefs, it may be of a thickness a dozen times as great. Sometimes it is white, sometimes orange, or gray, or brown, or any neutral shade. While usually of a nearly uniform color, it some- times shows broad revolving bands, one to three in number, of pure white on a dark ground, Sometimes quite smooth, again it is finely sculptured with longitudinal lines of raised scales, and there is every gradation between these extremes. It varies, too, in form, and in length proportional to the breadth. The only shore form which it resembles. 2 THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. 39 is the young of the Whelk, Buceinwm wndatum. From this it differs in the absence of the longitudinal undulations and in the shape of the lowest part of the free edge of the opening. As stated under the des- eription of B. undatum, this in P. lapillus is more or less angular and never lower than the lowest point (the apex being considered the upper Fig. 7.— Purpura lapillus. Natural Size. end of the shell) of the columella, or central pillar around which the whorls are wound. In &. wndutum on the other hand, it isalways evenly rounded, and always a little lower than the extremity of the columella. Through all its variations, it yet presents a certain individuality of its own not describable in words, which makes it easily recognizable when once the student has become familiar with it. The Purple-shell lives upon rocky shores between high and low- -vater marks, particularly near the latter. It rather prefers exposed situations and is often found on ledges exposed to the full force of the ocean swell. It is very voracious and attacks nearly all of the littoral Molluscs, into the shells of which it can easily bore an opening by means of its file-like tongue. One writer tells us that it can bore through the shell of the common Mussel in from three to five minutes, while others, with more show of probability say that it takes two days. Can not some of our teachers or students who live near the shore, throw some light upon such questions at this? Through the hole, not larger than a large pin head, the anima! thrusts its proboscis, and sucks out the juices of its prey at its leisure. The Oyster is a favorite food, and great damage is done to Oyster beds by this species. In England it is considered “one cf the greatest if not the most destructive of the Oyster’s enemies,” It has been so bad at times on the English beds that sixpence per hundred has been paid to collectors. It also attacks species of Littorina, Limpets, small Naticas and its own kind. It feeds very largely upon the common shore Barnacles, Balanus balanoides, thrusting its proboscis between the opercular valves of that species. Its egg-cases, urn or vase shaped, smooth, about one-fourth of an inch long, of a yellow or cream color tinged with pink, are found attached in groups on the under sides of stones, and in crevices of the ledges, at low tide. The young remain in them until their shell is well-formed and they are able to shift for themselves. 40, THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA. Economics. This is one of a number of Molluscs which furnish rich purple or crimson dyes. Indeed, it was a specie of this same genus which afforded a part at least of the famous Tyrian purple dye. Small shells of the genera Murex and Purpura, containing the animals, together with the color gland alone from larger individuals, were pounded up together in mortars and mixed with five or six times their weight of water. To this was added twenty pounds of soda to each hundred pounds of the mixture and the whole was placed in leaden or tin dishes. It was then exposed to the sun for a few days, until the desired hue was obtained, when the wool was placed in it and left for a few hours. The wool came out dyed unchangeably of the color reserved for the garments of kings and emperors. Indeed, it was far beyond the reach of any but the most wealthy—so very expensive was it. Sim- monds tells us in his ‘‘ Commercial Products of the Sea,” that in the reign of Augustus, one pound of wool dyed with Tyrian purple sold for about £36 sterling. ‘This was because of the tediousness of the process, and the small quantity of color obtained from each Mollusc. It is now never used on a commercial scale, partly on account of its expense and partly because cheaper substitutes have been obtained from the cochineal insect and later from the coal-tar or aniline colors. In the work last mentioned we find the following, refer- ring to the Mollusc under consideration. ‘‘If the shell of Purpura lapillus is broken, there is seen on the back of the animal, under the skin, a slender, longitudinal, whitish vein, containing a yellowish liquor. When this juice is applied to linen, by means of a small brush, and exposed to the sun, it becomes green, blue and purple, and at last settles into a fine unchangeable crimson, Neither acids nor alkalies affect its color, and it may be conveniently employed in marking linen where an indelible ink is desired.” And as Mr. Ingersoll adds, ‘