HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

LIBRARY

OF THE

MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY.

FFB 16 I8!Tt

BULLETIN

OF THE

Natural History Society

OK

NEW BRUNSWICK

No. VIII.

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY.

SAINT JOHN, N. E5. :
Barnes &• Co., Prince Wm. Street.
1889.

BULLETIN No. VIII.

ARTICLE — On the Economic Mollusca of Acadia.

By W. F. Ganong , M. A., 3

APPENDIX—

Report of the Council, 117

Report of the Botanical Committee, 119

List of Donations, ' . . . . 119

Officers of the Society and Standing Committees, . . 122

St. John, N. B., 1st Oct., 1889.

BULLETIN

OF THE

Natural History Society

OF

NEW BRUNSWICK.

No. VIII.

Publisher by the Society

ST. JOHN, N. B. :

Barnes & Co., Prince William Street.
1889.

11

BULLETIN

OF THE

NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

OF

NEW BRUNSWICK.

ARTICLE I.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

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 ’aterested 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 1839 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.

4 BULLETIN" OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

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 laNouvelle 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. At St.
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 Cardium or true Cockle, for
which Champlain naturally mistook it. By Sea-snails he
probably means the large Whelks, Buccinum undatum 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, among 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. HI., pp. 170-174, it is said; “ As touching the kindes of Fish . ...
there are .... 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-
tugal 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 1583, says that Oysters do occur there;—” Oysters hauing pearle but not orient
jn colour: I tooke it by reason they were not gathered in season.” He must con-
found some other mollusc 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

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

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 Koyal there are great beds of Mussels, with
which we filled our boats when sometimes we went to those
places. There are also there, Scallops, ( Palourdes ),* 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
P Amerique Septentrionale,” and the “ Historie Naturelle. . . .
de P 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 Bazor-fish ( Coutel -
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.

THiU ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

7

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 Gaspe,” published in Halifax, in 1832.
Other Invertebrates are included, the Molluscs beingltalicized.

Blue crab.
Smooth cockle.
Lobster.
Muscle.

Oyster.

Razor-fish.

Scollop.

Sea clam .
Shore clam.
Star-fish.

Sea crab.
Soldier crab.
Sea urchin.
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 Molluscs
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 account 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 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

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.

(3) 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, Kazor-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. It is most 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,
of water.

Per cent,
of

nutrients.

Protein.

Fats.

Carbo-

hydrates.

Mineral

matters.

Beefsteak,

60.

40.

19.

20.

1.

Salmon,

Oyster (0. Vir-

63.2

36.8

22.6

12.9

1.3

giniana.)
Clam (Mya

87.3

12.7

6.0

1.2

3.5

2.0

arenaria.)
Quakog (V enus

85.9

14.1

8.5

1.0

2.0

2.6

mercenaria.)
Mussel (Mytilus

86.2

13.8

6.6

0.4

4.2

2.6

edulis,)
Scallop (Pecten

84 2

15.8

8.7

1.1

4.1

1.9

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. Every-
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

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

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. 6-39.

Notes on Certain Aboriginal Shell Mounds on the Coast of New Brunswick and of
New England. By S. F. Baird, Proc. U. S. National Museum. Vol. IV., 1881, pp.
292-297.

Also see Trans. N. S. Institute. Vol I., Part n.. 1864. pp. 94-99.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

11

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 brilliantly
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 ( Cardium) are
made into ornamental dishes, pin-cushions and the like. The
valves of Scallops, particularly of our great Pecten tenuicosta-
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

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BULLETIN- OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

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
(Cyprcea 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 Haliotis or Ear-shells, and other tribes, strings
of Dentalium 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.
XII.), 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, [t. e., 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, [i. e., 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 (notwithstanding 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
their red dye. 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 [ i . e., the
Micmacs and the Armouchiquois, J 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

BULLETIN- OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

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 Molluscs which are closely allied to our Purple-shell
( Purpura lapillus). The latter shell, exceedingly abundant
on our shores, itself yields an 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 undatum ) 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 Squids a 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 does the Teredo 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 Teredo 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, buoys, 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 Fundv
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

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

Drill ( Buccinum 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. Oroix 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 new ones. 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
Molluscs 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 JFundy, 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 ( Urosalpinx ), 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 Fundv 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

BULLETIN OE THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

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 spirit 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
ail cases that of the latest authorities, though such names arc
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.

10

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. As so 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
Thomas F. Knight. 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. Matthew Jones. Proc.
and Trans, of Nova Scotian Institute of Nat. Science ..
Yol. 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

30 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

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,
Gould. 2d edition, edited by W. G. Binney. Boston,
1870, 8vo, viiL-J-524 pp., 12 plates and very many
woodcuts.

Report on the Invertebrate Animals of Vineyard Sound,
etc. By A. E. Verrill. Rep. U. S. Fish Commis-
sion 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, 8 vo, pp. 210, date (?) [Not seen by the writer].
Commercial Products of the Sea. By P. L. Simmonds.

New York, 1879, 8vo, viii. -f-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. 0. Atwater. Rep. U. S.
Fish Commission for 1883, pp. 433-499.

A Review of the Fishing Industries of the United States.
By G. Brown Goode. 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
Winslow. 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 Goode and others. Section I. History of
Useful Aquatic Animals. Section V., Vol. II. The
Oyster, Scallop, Clam, Mussel and Abalons Industries.
Washington, 4°, 1884, and later.

Fisheries Exhibition Literature, London, 1883-84. 16 vols.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

21

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. S. W. Kain, of
St. John, for much information I am particularly indebted.
Mr. H. Piers, of Halifax, Mr. J. A. Turner, 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-
rfcype Company of Boston.

22

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

Section II. A List of those Molluscs of the waters of
Acadia which are Useful or Injurious-
to Man.

Analysis.

A. Useful Mollusca.

(a) Directly useful.

1. As food. See Ostrea Virginiana

Mya arenaria.

Mya truncata.

Pecien tenuicostatus.
Pecten Islandicus.

Pecten irradians.

Venus mercenaria.
Mytilus edulis.

Modiola modiolus.

Solen ensis.

Mactra solidissimcc.
Mactra ovalis .

Cyprina Islandica.
Zirphcea crispata.
Cardium Islandicum.
Littorina litorea.

Lunatia lieros.

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.
Mactra ovalis.

Buccinum undatum.
Purpura lapillus.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

23

:3. As fertilizers. See Ostrea Virginiana.

Mytilus edulis.

Modiola plicatula.

Ommastrephes illecebrosa.

Loligo Pealei.

4. For ornaments, including pearl.

See Margantana.

Venus mercenaria.

Mytilus edulis.

Modiola modiolus.

Cardium Islandicum.

Pecien tenuicostatus.

Mactra solidissima.

Buccinum undatum.

Pus us Islandicus.

Pusus decemcosiatus.

5. For money. See Venus mercenaria.

*6. For dyes. See Purpura- lapillus,

Buccinum undatum.

7. For dishes and minor uses.

See Ostrea Virginiana.

Pecten tenuicostatus.

Mactra solidissima.

Mytilus edulis.

(b) 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.

(3) Removal of wrecks and obstructions to navigation.

See Teredo navalis.

(4) Of value to oyster beds. See Littorina litorea.

B. Injurious Mollusca.

(a) Directly injurious.

1. Destructive to sub-marine timber.

See Teredo navalis.

Teredo norvagica.

Teredo dilaiata ,

Xylophaga dorsalis.

24

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.-

2. Molluscs occasionally poisonous.

See Mytilus edulis,

Modiola modiolus.

Peden tenuicostatus.

(b) Indirectly injurious.

1 . Destructive to oyster beds.

See Buccinum cinereum ,
Purpura lapillus .
Lnuatia heros.

Mytilus 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 0. 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.

MicmaCy 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.

(h) In Acadia; — Abundant around the entire coast of the-
three Provinces. Verrill says it is “ abundant from Cape Cod
to Newfoundland.”

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

2 5>

Habits. 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
a parrot. The large and very bright eyes are
on diametrically opposite sides of the head;
they have lids and a round 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 tin 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 twTo radii sloping to the extreme pos- Fig. I. Ommastrephes il-

terior end. An average specimen is fourteen tWMv'ent£Tnato?S'
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 is thus that the rapid changes-
of color are caused— red, orange and brown seeming to predominate in
this species. Prof. Verrill says: — “ The colors change constantly, when*

26

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HIGTORY SOCIETY.

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.

1883.

1884.

1885.

1886.

1887.

New Brunsw’k

$ 500

$ 208
17,464

$ 1,972
10,732

$ 1,392
12,556

$ 2,256
17,576

$ 2,816
121,280

Nova Scotia. . .

$9,600

13,200

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.” This is
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

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

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 Oalamaries 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. Verrill. 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, Yol. 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, et 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.

(h) 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 have 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 0. 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 borealis of Verrill, which
the latter established for his specimens from Cape Ann, and
which he calls “nothing more than a local or geographical
variety.”]

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

30

natural size.

Habits. In appearance the long-finned
Squid differs little from the short-finned, the
most marked difference being indicated by
their names. In L. PeaJei, the caudal fin ex-
tends over one half the length of the body,
clearly distinguishing it from 0. 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 0. illecebrosa.

Class GASTEROPODA.

3. Fusus decemcostatus Say.

Tritonium decern cost alum Midd.

Neptunea despecta Lin., var. carinata.

Neptnnea decemcostata Say.

Ten-ribbed Spindle-shell.

[Fusus, a spindle ; decemcostatus , ten-ribbed.]

Distribution, (a) General; — Low-water mark to forty
fathoms. Cape Cod to Sable Island.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

31

(b) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Grand Manan, low- water
mark to forty fathoms, Stimpson. L’Etang Harbor and
Passamaquoddy Bay, Ganong. Particularly large, fine and
abundant about low-water mark at Hospital Island, Passa-
maquoddy Bay; (in N, S.) Annapolis Basin, abundant,
VerJcruzen. Halifax 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.

Habits. This is a very striking shell, and one easily distinguished
from all others by its ten raised revolving ribs. The ground color is a dul|
fulvous or yellowish-red, but the ribs are darker. Of these there can
always be counted nine, generally
ten 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 sand 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 spire projecting at times, and Fig< 3 __Fusns decemcostatus.
leaving deep furrows behind as si/e.
it works its way along. Specimens from this locality are very clean
and bright and show no trace of the parasitic growths which

Natural

32

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

seem to be always present on specimens from mud bottoms. We
do not know what it feeds upon, but it is probably carnivorous like
Bccinuum 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 Islandicus.” 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 id Islandicus , 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 Loven.

Neptunea curt a Verrill.

Sipho Islandicus Chemn.

Spindle-shell.

. [F\tsws, 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.

(V) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Grand Manan, low-watermark
to forty fathoms, Stimpson. Bay of Fundy, low-water mark
to eighty fathoms, Verrill. Passamaquoddy Bay, Ganong.
•Gulf of St. Lawrence, over one hundred fathoms, Verrill. (in
N. S.) Annapolis Basin, abundant, Verlcruzen. 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.

Habits. 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. Islandicus , however, that it is undoubtedly useful for the
: same purposes.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSC A OF ACADIA.

33

The common name of this species is very appropriate, for it tapers
rto 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
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 obtain it in any quantity,
and being comparatively scarce it can never be of
.much value.

Economics. It may be used as food.

Willis says of it: “ Parties who have eaten Fig. 4.— Fususlslan-
it inform me that they consider it quite a dicus- One-haif

delicacy.” We do not find that it is ever of natural 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.

Urosalpinx 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.
*Oasco Bay, Gulf of St. Lawrence.

(b) 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.

Habits. It is a very rough, dull-colored shell, looking not very
■unlike Buccinum, undatum , but is smaller, rougher and generally lighter
In color. It is longer in proportion to its breadth, has the revolving

34 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

lines more marked and tapers to both ends. The adult is about an'

inch in length. It has, like other Gasteropod Molluscs, a “ tongue *r

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 arc

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

-r- not to attack the Mussels.

Fig. 5.— Buccxn-

um cinereum. Economic8. This Mollusc is of importance*
Natui man on account of its destructiveness to-

Oysters. Other Gasteropod Mollusca, such as Purjmrci, 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, “ Natural
History of Useful Aquatic Animals,” p. 697.

6. Bucciniim iiudatum Linnaeus.

Whelk, Long Whelk.

[Buccinum, a trumpet; undatum , 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. S.) Annapolis Basin, moderately abundant, Verier uzen ;
whole coast, Jones. Prince Edward Island, Daivson. Probably
abundant around the entire coast of the three provinces.

Habits. It has been considered by some writers that our common

shore Whelk is not the same species
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.
But, unless quite young, it is much
larger than the latter, an average size
3

as the Buccinum undatum of

Fig. 6. — Buccinum. undatum.
Natural size.

being three inches in length.

36

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

The “waves” or rounded longitudinal ridges on the whorls also, twelve
or thirteen on each, are hut rarely or never seen in P. Japillus. 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
Tounded, 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 foot in 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, whicb 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 Food-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 MOLLUSC A 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 a sandy 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

*Recip-s for cooking B. undatum may be found in Tryon’s Manual of Con-
•chology, Vol. III., pp. 179, 180.

38

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

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.

7. Purpura lapillus (Lin.) Lamarck.

Purple-shell, Dog-periwinkle, Dog-whelk.

[. Purpura , Tj’rian-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,.
Vericruzen; all rocky shores, Jones; Prince Edward Island,
Dawson. Probably occurs everywhere on our coasts in rocky
places and tolerably clear water.

Habits. 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.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

39

is the young of the Whelk, Buccinum undatnm. 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-
-cription 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 B. undatum on the other hand, it is always 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-
water 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 animal 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

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

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,
“The housewives of New England, therefore, have growing
abundantly on their sea-side rocks little living bottles of
indelible ink which cannot be excelled by any manufactured
product for either beauty or durability, since neither acid nor
alkali will affect its color.” In these facts are shown an

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

41

interesting though not commercially valuable use for this
species. It would be far too expensive a process to attempt
to dye with it, but for the purpose suggested (i. e., its use as
indelible ink), it may have a limited local value. Jeffreys
says the egg-capsules will also give the color, and with less
trouble than the parent animals. Dr. Bell states that this
species was used somewhat as bait for Cod along the lower
St. Lawrence, but we do not know that it has ever been so used
in Acadia.

A more important economic interest in this animal for us
arises from its relation to Oyster-beds and Oyster-culture.
While it gives much trouble and causes much loss to United
States oystermen, it seems to be quite rare and harmless on
the Oyster-beds of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, doubtless owing
to the fact that it lives on rocks, of which there are compara-
tively few in that region. Indeed Mr. Whiteaves did not
find it at all at Shediac. This fact is another to show how
favored by nature are Acadian Oyster-waters, and is an
additional indication of the possibility of profitable Oyster-
culture upon our shores.

8. Luiiatia lieros (Say) Adams.

Natica lieros (Say).

Round Whelk.

[Lunatia, half-moon shaped; lieros , a hero.]

Distribution, (a) General;— Low-water mark to forty
fathoms. Georgia to southern coast of Labrador.

(b) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Abundant everywhere on sand
and mud bottoms on the southern coast, from Grand Manan to
Quaco. Near Dalhousie, Bell. Shediac, Whiteaves. (In N.
S.) Annapolis Basin and St. Mary’s Bay, Verhruzen. All
sand beaches, Jones. Sable Island, very large, Willis.
Prince Edward Island, Dawson. Probably to be found on
sandy and other soft beaches around the entire coast.

Habits. Though this species possesses little economic value, it is
a most conspicuous shore shell. It is as large as Euccinum undatum, or

42

BULLETIN- OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

larger, and nearly as abundant. With that species it cannot be con-
founded, for it lias a very lew spire, no waves, lines, or sculpturing of
any kind except the simple longitudinal lines of growth, and an aper-
ture simply rounded below with
no sigD of a notch or canal. It
is generally ash colored, and
about two and a half inches long
and two inches broad. It grows
much larger than this, however,
in favorable situations, andWillis
mentions that he has had speci-
mens from Sable Island measur-
ing four or five inches in length,
and broad in proportion.

The Round Whelk is rarely
found in rocky situations, prefer"
ing sand and mud bottoms. It
is not as particular about the
purity of the water it inhabits as
is generally supposed, for it is
found up the St. Croix River at the Raven’s Head and perhaps further.
On the flats of Oak Bay, especially on the borders of the deeper parts,
it is exceedingly abundant, and there its habits may be easily watched.
It not only lives on the surface, but beneath it, the great expanded
muscular foot enabling it to burrow readily.

Everywhere on the flats around our coast, there may be found
valv< s of Mussels, Clams and other shells, many of which show a neatly
bored round hole, one sixth of an inch in diameter. These are the
remains of the victims of Lxmatia. Grasping the shell with its powerful
foot, it rasps a hole through it with its file-like tongue, inserts its
proboscis, and sucks out the juices and soft parts. Not only bivalves,
but various Gasteropods* are attacked by it, and it is said even its own
young. It even attacks successfully the great Beach-clam ( Mactra
solklmhna). It also feeds upon dead fish. Small specimens are frequently
found resembling this species in shape, but showing three revolving
•chestnut-colored bands. These are now considered a variety of L. heros ,
and are called var trneriata. Its egg-masses appropriately called
“ Sand-saucers ” are quite common on the flats. The eggs are arranged
in a “ mass of sand glued together into the shape of a broad bowl, open

Fig. 8. — Lxmatia lieros. Natural Size.

*The writer saw last summer, at Oak Bay, a large Buccinum undatum which
had been attacked by a Lunatia little larger than itself. Though the boring had
not commenced, the former was completely enclosed by the foot of the latter and
had its aperture quite covered with a sticky slime. It at first seemed dead, but on
being placed in water revived and seemed none the worse for its adventure.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSC A OF ACADIA.

43

;at the bottom, and broken on one side.” This bowl is two to four
inches in diameter. By holding it up to the light the eggs may be seen.

Economics. It does not appear that the Round Whelk is
used either for food or bait, though it is probably well suited
for both purposes. Willis says, — “ It is slightly sought after
as an article of food, and never offered for sale in any of our
markets.” Can any one to whom these pages may come, tell
us of any other uses to which the species is applied?

It is not considered in the United States that it does any
considerable harm to the Oyster-beds. Mr. Whiteaves found
it on the Oyster-beds at Shediac, but we have no information
as to whether it does much injury. It is eaten by several
fishes.

■9. Littorina litorea (Lin.) Forbes and Hanley.

Periwinkle, Winkle.

Mic-mac Chigujich-k.* Acadian French, Biourneau (?).

[ Littorina , littus, the sea-shore; litorea , living on the shore.]

Distribution. (a) General; — Between tides. Long
Island Sound to Gulf of St. Lawrence.

(b) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Bay of Fundy coast, abundant.
Bay Chaleur, Morse. Northumberland Strait, Dawson. (In
N. S.) North Shore, Dawson. Halifax, abundant, Willis,
Vericruzen. All rocky shores, Jones. (In P. E. I.) South
"Shore, Whiteaves. Large and abundant on different parts of
the coast, Dawson. It probably occurs in all rocky situations
around the entire coast of the three Provinces.

[This is now almost universally admitted to be an intro-
duced Mollusc. Its home is in Europe and it is exceedingly
abundant on the coasts of Great Britain. It was first reported
from Halifax in 1857, by Mr. John Willis, but Sir William
Dawson states that he collected it in the southern part of the
‘Gulf of St. Lawrence earlier than this, and Prof. E. S. Morse
received it from Bathurst in 1855. It was found near St. John
by Mr. G. F. Matthew in 1861 or 1862. It was unknown on the

♦Applied probably to the nat ve form, L. palliata.

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

coast of New England prior to 1868, but has since spread
southward very rapidly, reaching Casco Bay about 1873, Cape
Cod in 1875, New Haven, Conn., in 1879. The evidence-
bearing upon the question of whether or not it is introduced,
would be out of place here. It will be found in the work by
the author, cited below].

Habits. It is not difficult to distingulisli this shell from our other
littoral rock-loving Gasteropods. Our native Periwinkle, L. palliatav
resembles it most closely; but that is much smaller, much thinner and
lighter and entirely lacks any of the revolving raised lines so well
marked iu L. litorea. This latter character marks it
off well from young specimens of Lunatia Jieros.
From L. rudis it is separated by its greater size and,
the greater number and less prominence of its re-
volving lines and by the shape of its mouth or
aperture; in L rudis the latter is nearly round, in L.
litorea it is pear-shaped. From Purpura lapillus and
Fig. 9. — Littorina Buccinum undatum it is readily distinguished by the
Litorea. Natural absence of a posterior prolongation of the shell into
Size. a canal. Large specimens are over an inch in length,

but ihe average size is a little below this.

The Periwinkle lives on the rocks between tides. It is a vegetable
eater, and uses its long file-like tongue or lingual ribbon, which its
relatives employ to bore through the shells of other Molluscs, for rasp-
ing up minute sea weeds from the rocks. It really grazes on these sub-
marine pastures as do cattle on land. This mode of taking its food
results in direct value toman, for in England Oyster cultivators distribute
them over the beds to keep the Oysters free from seaweed. It has not
been observed to attack other Molluscs. From its living on rocks
between tides and possessing considerable vitality, it is liable to be taken
on ships with ballast, and it was probably in this way that it was intro-
duced into America from Europe.

Economics. This is one of the best of our Food-molluscs,
a fact proven by the quantities sold both in foreign markets
and our own. It is not used as yet to any extent in the
United States, probably because it is of so recent introduction
and because of its scarcity in the vicinity of the markets of
New York — the great mollusc-market of the Eastern United
States. In England there are no exact statistics to show the
extent of its use, but it is estimated that in London alone-
more than twenty-five hundred tons, worth fifteen thousand

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSC A OF ACADIA.

45-

pounds, are consumed annually. The consumption in other
places is enormous also, and many hundreds of people are
employed in collecting them. The average selling price is
one penny a pint. It is eaten in France and probably in other
parts of Europe. There, as with us, it is boiled in salt and
water, and the animal extracted with a pin. In France, and
perhaps elsewhere, pins are placed beside the plates of diners
when these animals are served.

In Acadia our people are beginning to appreciate it. We
do not know that it is as yet eaten by the fishermen, but in
St. John, Mr. J. A. Turner estimates about one hundred and
fifty bushels per year are consumed. Of these, a few come
from Nova Scotia, but the greater quantity are collected by
hand at and near Point Lepreaux. They sell for about two
dollars per bushel wholesale in St. John. A few have been
exported to Montreal.

It Nova Scotia, in Willis’ time, twenty-five to thirty years
ago, it was not used for food. At present large quantities
are sola in the Halifax markets. They are gathered on the
neighboring coasts and sell for five or six cents per quart.
At Bedford Basin, Point Pleasant and other places, the resi-
dents on the shores gather them for their own use.

In Prince Edward Island, Mr. J. H. Duvar says it is not
eaten.

It would doubtless form good bait, but is more valuable
for other purposes. Its habit of cleaning sea-weeds from hard
surfaces, utilized as mentioned above by oyster-culturists, may
become of importance to us if there ever should be on our
Gulf of St. Lawrence coast, as nature appears to have
intended there should, a system of Oyster-culture.

As the Periwinkle becomes better known, it will be exten-
sively used, and a time will come when the demand will press-
hard upon the supply. Though it can never approach the
Oyster or the Lobster in value, we should none the less take
lesson from the fate of their fishery. As Periwinkles are so
small, the young are almost valueless and are hence not likely
to be taken; but the reproductive season should be carefully
determined for our waters, and during that time they should

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

be left entirely undisturbed, fts abundance upon our coast
will ensure a bountiful supply for some time to come.

Works of Reference.

Is Littorina litorea Introduced or Indigenous ? By W. F.
Ganong. American Naturalist , Vol. XX., Nov., 1886,
pp. 931-940 and XXI., 287, 288.

Class LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

10. Ostrea Yirginiana Lister.

Ostrea Virginica Gmelin.

Ostrea borealis Lamarck.

Ostrea Canadensis Bruguiere.

Oyster, American Oyster.

Mic-mac , Numdumoo-k. P assamaquoddy , Bahsaps-
ske see zik. Acadian French , Hrntre.

[ Ostrea , an Oyster; Virginiana, Virginian.]

[It is not yet known whether the Oysters of our coast are
to be referred to one or to two species. Most naturalists at
the present time believe the former to be the case, and
this is the opinion of the writer of this paper. In any
event, it does not much matter for our present purpose
and we can best consider them as one,]

Distribution, (a) General; — Shallow water. Gulf of
Mexico to Massachusetts Bay, Southern part of the Gulf of
St. Lawrence and waters contiguous. Formerly also in Port-
land Harbor, Casco Bay, etc.

( b ) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Bay Chaleur to Baie Verte,
in all favorable situations. Between Caraquette Banks,
Caraquette, St. Simon’s Inlet, Shippegan Harbor and Gully,
Tracadie, Tabusintac, Burnt Church, Bay du Vin, and many
other places in Miramichi Bay, Kouchibouguac, Richibucto,
Buctouche, Cocagne, Shediac, Baie Verte. (In N. S.) River
Philip, Pug wash, Wallace, Malagash, Tatamagouche, River

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

47

John, Pictou, Tracadie, Mabou, Margarie, Sydney, Albert
Bridge, County Harbor,* St, Mary’s River*, Liscombe Harbor*,.
Jeddore Head,* and nearly every where in the Bras d’or Lakes.
(In P. E, I.) All around the coast in favorable situations.

Habits. A species, with a range as great as this, and one found
under such diverse conditions, must necessarily present great variations.
It would be impossible to give of it a description, either scientific or
popular, which would apply to all of its individuals. Sometimes round
in outline, sometimes nearly as elongated as the Razor-shell, and with
every gradation between these extremes, presenting every possible
variation as to convexity and corrugation of the valves, it must be con-
sidered the most variable bivalve of our coasts. Many of these varia-
tions are due to modes of attachment, overcrowding and other conditions
to be considered below, but others depend upon conditions not yet
understood, particularly those cases in which a certain general form is
characteristic of a special locality.

The Oyster f is a bivalve, as everybody knows, with a hinge of
simple mechanism at one end, so arranged as to tend to keep the shell
constantly a little open. This is its position wThen lying undisturbed on
the bottom, when weakened, or when dead. But the living animal has
the power of closing the valves and keeping them closed by means of the
single powerful muscle, the position of which is marked by the purple
scars, known as the “eye,” on the interior of the twro valves. The
entire interior of each valve has a rather thick, dark-edged, fringed
membranous lining called the mantle, which, when fully extended, is a
little larger than the valve and extends like a fringe beyond it. It is
this mantle wrhich builds the shell. That of one valve is not connected
with that of the other except at the hinge and at one other point near the
opposite end. Thus the animal is open or exposed nearly all around
and not closed in as it would be if the mantle were almost continuous
as in the Clam.

Of the two valves, one is usually flat and the other convex. The latter
is the under one as the animal lies undisturbed on the bottom, and in its
hollow', as in a dish, lie the other organs. The hinge is at the extreme
anterior end, differing thus from the Clam in which it lies near the back
of the animal. Inside the mantle, and just behind the hinge is the

♦Given by Ingersoll in U. S. 10th Census, “Oyster Fishery,” on authority of
Purdy.

+As would be expected from its great economic importance, the structure and
habits of the Oyster have been very thoroughly studied, and its life history is now
as well known as that of any Mollusc. Those who are specially interested will find
the subject very fully treated in the works quoted at the end of this article, some of
which are easily accessible.

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

minute mouth, guarded by four large membranous flaps, minutely
striated on their inner faces. From among them, there run backwards
four other larger folds, transversely striated and with crenulate edges,
which follow the most curved or ventral side to the posterior margiu,
and around it to end near the straighter or dorsal side. These are
generally known to oystermen as the “ beard.” They are the gills, and
serve both for respiration as they do in fishes, and also to help collect
the food and guide it to the mouth. Just in front of the muscle, in a
cavity of its own, lies the heart, which, in a freshly-opened, healthy
Oyster, can be seen to beat very slowly. It has three chambers, two
auricles and a ventricle, and receiving the aerated blood from the mantle
and gills, forces it through the various organs of the body, then a part
of it through the gills for aeration again, and so on. The nervous
system is quite simple, consisting of two ganglia or nerve-knots near the
mouth which control the internal organs, and two others near the great
muscle which control the latter and the mantle.

In front of the heart lies a large ma«s which contains the liver (a
very dark brown organ), the intestine and the generative organs. At
the breeding season the latter will be found very large, and filled with
minute eggs or with a milky fluid (the spermatazoa), according as the
animal is a female or a male. The sexes are distinct in the American
Oyster, though united in the same undividual in the European species,*
and there are about as many of one sex as of the other. The posterior
end of the intestine is on the dorsal side of the great muscle. The water
forced along by minute vibrating rods passes into the animal along the
ventral margin, bathes the gills and palps and gives up to them its
oxygen and food, and passes out by the dorsal margin taking with it the
waste matters. The food of the Oyster consists of minute animals and
plants, principally that group of the latter known as Diatoms,

It is on account of the abundance of these Diatoms on muddy
bottoms in brackish waters that Oysters flourish and fatten better in
such situations than in any others. They never burrow but lie upon
the surface, and if accidentally covered with mud must perish. They
are found also upon rocky and even sand bottoms, but they grow less
rapidly and have more enemies in such places. When lying undisturbed,
they are firmly attached to some support by the most convex valve; this
is nearly always the left. The upper valve usually is a little lifted by
the elastic hinge, and allows of the constant circulation of the water
through the animal as described above. If left to themselves they grow
to a great size. Specimens a foot or more in length, and about four
inches in breadth being found sometimes in deep water.

The breeding habits of the American Oyster have been very carefully
investigated by Professors W. K. Brooks and John A. R}Tder, and their

*Yet it is never self-fertilized, for the eggs and the spermatazoa come to
maturity in each individual at different times.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSC A OF ACADIA.

49

results are to be found in papers quoted below. The latter naturalist
finds that about the latitude of Washington, May, June and July, are
the spawning months; it is probable that in our waters it comes a little
later. The eggs are about one five-hundredth of an inch in diameter,
and an Oyster of average size is estimated to lay at least nine millions of
them, while a very large specimen will lay several times this number
The eggs are cast directly into the water, and are not retained in the
gills for a time as in the European Oyster. They can swim freely about
by means of rapidly vibrating little rods or cilia, and within two or three
days they develop a mouth and intestine and a symmetrical bivalve shell,
and are ready to attach themselves to some clean fixed support. If the
latter be wanting they perish. They are now known as the Spat, and
they attach themselves usually by the left valve. They grow with the
greatest rapidity, and the new growth of the valves proceeds unequally,
making them soon quite unsymmetrical. In ten days they are
known to attain a diameter of one-fourth of an inch, in twenty,
nearly half an inch, and in forty-eight, one inch. Some specimens,
not over eiglity-two days old, have attained a length of nearly two
inches. This rate of growth was under very favorable c mditions;
probably in our waters it is much slower. It is much more rapid than
the growth of the European Oyster, and in nearly all respects, contrary
to the general rule, the American seems to excel its European ally. In
from two to three years it is ready for the market, but the very large
specimens of some localities undoubtedly require from five years
upwards. A warm temperature is required for the development of the
young, but the adults can endure long-continued cold without injury.

Oysters have many enemies. Excluding for the present the greatest
of all, man (his ravages will be considered below), the most destructive
are the Starfishes. These animals, in a way only partially understood,
can easily destroy Oysters, and the damage done by them is estimated in
the United States at $200,000 yearly — more than the entire annual value
of the Canadian Oyster Fishery. At Bridgeport, Conn., for instance,
they destroyed over nine hundred acres of Oyster beds in less than three
months, and steamers had to be employed to dredge them at great
expense. They do great damage in Europe also. Next in importance
■comes the Drill, Buccinum cinereum , a description of which is given in
another part of this paper. The Purple Shell, Purpura lapillus, the two
Conchs, Sycotypus canaliculatus and Fulgur carica and some other Molluscs,
and various parasitic animals do more or less damage. Upon our own
North Shore, our Oyster beds are most singularly exempt from most of
these foes— a subject to be again referred to a little later in this paper.
Mud, sawdust, polluted water of any kind are all very fatal, but are
generally due to human rather than natural agencies.

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

Economics, Of all invertebrate animals that live in the'
sea, perhaps of all invertebrate animals whatever, the Oyster
is far the best known. It is very widely distributed, occurring,
in nearly all the seas of the globe, and there are some seventy
species recognized. How far back dates its use by man we cannot
say, but the shells are found in very ancient kitchen-middens
or refuse heaps in America, and still more ancient ones in
Europe, This rather throws doubt upon the story sometimes
•told that their excellence was first made known by an inquisi-
tive walker on the seashore whose finger was pinched by one
and carried for relief to his mouth. Toe historical accuracy
of this tale is still further impugned by the fact that the same-
is told of the origin of several other excellent edibles.

That the Oyster is a nutritious and otherwise good article
of food, all physicians, chemists and human experience agree.
A discussion of its value compared with other food substances-
will be found in the introductory part of this paper (p. 9)..
It must be remembered that those tables express merely the
absolute nutritive value of the various substances, and give no
indication of the relative digestibility and other differences-
which give this Mollusc its chief value.

Though persons are occasionally found (of whom the
writer is one), who dislike Oysters, we have never heard of
any cases of actual poisoning by them. It is sometimes
thought that those which have the gills of a green color are
injurious, but repeated chemical analysis and careful experi-
ments have shown that they are quite harmless. The green
color is due to a pigment absorbed from their food, which, in
such cases, consists chiefly of a particular kind of Diatoms-
By feeding them other food for a time, their white color
returns, and vice versa , by feeding white Oysters on these
Diatoms they turn green. Indeed the epicures of Europe
esteem the green more highly than the white, and in France-
there are beds in which they are carefully fed to make them
green.

The United States is the greatest Oyster-producing country
in the world. According to the census of 188b, this fishery is*

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

51

worth over $13,000,000 annually,* more than three times the
value of the Cod-fishery. By far the greater portion of this
is from natural beds, eighty per cent coming from Chesapeake
Bay, They are exported to Canada and to Europe. There is-
but little in the way of Oyster-culture.

In France, elaborate systems of culture prevail, and natural
beds are also extensive; the total yield is about 18,000,000'
francs per year. The total yield from the beds of Great
Britain is estimated at from £1,000,000 to £2,000,000 worth
per year. Holland, Germany, Italy and other European
countries also have their beds, but their production is of less-
value. The distribution of the common European Oyster
( Ostrea edulis), seems to correspond pretty closely with the
limits of those shores on which is felt the influence of the
Gulf Stream,

On the shores of Acadia, the Oyster has probably existed
much longer than man. No doubt the Indians have used it
from very ancient times. We are not able to find that lists of
the shells of any of the Indian shell heaps f which must exist
on our North Shore have ever been published, but they will
surely be found to contain many of the shells of this species. J;
A single specimen was found in a shell-heap ten miles east of
Halifax, and they are found in greatest abundance in the
shell-heaps of Casco Bay, Maine, though the Oyster is now
extinct there.

*It has been estimated much higher than this; by one good authority at mor&
than twice as much.

tMr. A. Leith Adams, in his “Field and Forest Rambles,” p. 35, says that he
examined shell-heaps on the islands in the Bay of Fundy and on the St. Croix River,
and in them occurred the Quahog and the Oyster. Other observers who have
examined these shell-heaps much more carefully than Mr. Adams had done, have
seen no trace of either Quahog or Oyster. Mr. Adams’ error is very unfortunate;
other writers have quoted and been led to wrong conclusions by him.

X Denys seems to imply this. He says, referring to the region about St. George’s
Bay and the Gut of Canso, “ there are found an abundance of good and very large
Oysters, and of Mussels, still larger; and also an abundance of Shell-fish of all kinds
good to eat, which are the most important means of subsistence of the savages
during the spring.”

4

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

The first European to speak of our Oysters appears to have
been Champlain,* who, in “ Les Voyages du Sieur de Cham-
plain, ” Paris, 1613, says that in Bras d’or Lakes, Cape Breton,
there are many islands filled with a great deal of game and
:Shell-fish of several kinds, among others of Oysters which are
not of good flavor.”

The next writer to refer to them was Nicolas Denys, in his
•“ Description Geographique et Historique . . . de l’Amerique
Septentrionale,” and his “ Historie Naturelle . . . de l’Am-
-erique Septentrionale,” 1672. He tells us that good Oysters
were found in the region of the Gut of Canso and the south
shore of St. George’s Bay, at Malagash, (apparently) at Pictou,
•at Tatamagouche and at Cocagne, and at Grand Pabou. Of
Bras d’or Lakes, he says, — “ There are found there only some
■Oysters which are not good when they are newly fished, because
they are too fresh, but they have a property, which is, that
•one is able to keep them nine or ten days without their losing
their water, after which they are salt and lose their insipid-
ness, which is caused by the fresh water of the rivers at the
mouths of which they are fished.” And of Pictou River, he
Bays, — “At a league and a half within the river, on the left
hand, there is a large cove where is found a quantity of excel-
lent Oysters; those in the passage are almost all round, and
further within the cove they are of immense size; there are
some found as large as a shoe and almost of the same shape,
and all are very full and of good taste.” These extracts are
interesting, as showing that the distribution and excellence
of our Oysters were known over two hundred years ago; the
beds have stood a constant strain since then. Denys describes
fully also the method of taking them, which will be referred to
below. A few references to them occur in books of the last
century f and the early part of the present, and since the
publication of the first of the Dominion Annual Fishery

*Excepting the doubtful case given on p. 5, footnote.

+ A curious error occurs in a little book, entitled, “ The Present State of Nova
■Scotia,1’ published in Edinbui’g, in 1787. It says on p. 119, that Oysters have been
•discovered in Chignecto Bay, “ and are now become an article of export to several
places.”

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

53

►Reports, we have had constant information in the Reports of
Mr. Venning, of New Brunswick, and Mr. J. H. Duvar, of
Prince Edward Island, as to the condition of the beds. Mr.
J. F. Whiteaves, of the Dominion Geological Survey, has
given them some attention; his reports are mentioned below.
In the Tenth Census of the United States, Section X., Mono,
.graph B, Report on the Oyster Industry of the U. S., pp. 3-11,
Mr. Ernest Ingersoll has given a concise account of the his-
tory and present condition of the beds and a not very encour-
aging sketch of their probable future. Other than these we
have found no writers who have discussed the Canadian Oyster-
beds.

If we pass, now, from human to geological history, the
rfirst question which meets us is, how the Oysters came first to
be in the Gulf, far removed as they are from their congeners
to the south of Cape Cod? This problem has already been
briefly discussed in the introductory part of this paper (p. 17.)
But the causes which brought about the present condition of
affairs are still at work, and are producing slow but constant
•changes in the beds. A depression of the land is certainly
going on in this region and must cause changes in tides and
•currents, and a more active erosion* of the land and disposi-
tion of silt. To this, rather than to the action of ice, as some
have thought, is probably to be referred the greater part of
the destruction of former large Oyster-beds, the sites of which
are marked all around Prince Edward Island especially, by
immense deposits of dead shells. Oysters, though they flourish
on mud bottoms, quickly perish if mud covers them.

There are other purely zoological causes also at work.
The depression of the land must allow the cold waters of the
deeper part of the Gulf to come nearer and nearer to the
shore, making the conditions more and more favorable for the
Rardy northern animals, and less so for the more sensitive
southern forms. The young of the latter must have warm

*Mr. J. H. Duvar, in a letter to the writer, says:— “ The Island itself is washing
. away at an appreciable rate,— the late Mr. Anderson, Government Surveyor, . . .
told me that he had observed and estimated the decrease of the land, at one foot
per annum on all its tidal margin/1

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

water for their development. A competition must therefore
be going on between the two, which can eventually result in
but one way — the extinction of the southern forms.

But does this all mean, that our beds are being exterminated
by a power quite beyond man’s control? If so, what would
be the use of Oyster-culture in our waters?

It is true that the ultimate fate of the beds is probably to
be total extinction. Only a change in the present geological
processes of this region, a cessation or reversal of the present
sinking of the land, can save them. But it must be remem-
bered that the whole process is extremely slow; that it takes
time measured not by years but by centuries. It is so slow
that for all practical purposes it is theoretical rather than real,
and need not enter into the calculations of practical men.
Probably, aside from man’s direct influence, i. e.f as far as
natural conditions are concerned, there has been but little
change in the beds during the last two hundred years, and
there will be as little more during the next two hundred.
The very conditions which cause the destruction of old beds,
are making new localities available. There is no doubt, that
before man interfered, and to a certain extent now, new beds
form in new places as old ones are smothered out; and no
doubt there are, too, many places upon which new ones would
grow, if tides, currents or other agency would once place
oysters upon them. There is nothing, then, in the geological
history of the Oyster in Acadia, to discourage systematic
culture or vigorous efforts to protect and increase them

It need hardly be mentioned here, that the only Oysters
in Eastern Canada are in the waters of Acadia. The following
table, compiled from the Dominion Fisheries Reports, shows
for a period of fifteen years, the value of the Oyster fishery to
each of the provinces and to all Canada.* They are officially
considered to be worth $3.00 per barrel, and dividing the
value by three will give the number of barrels.

* There are Oyster-beds on our Pacific coast, but owing to inferior quality
and lack of care, they are almost valueless.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA,

55

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

Prince Edward Island produces the greatest quantity ;;
New Brunswick comes next, and that of Nova Scotia is rela-
tively insignificant. The centre of the Oyster-trade in the first
of these Provinces is Summerside, and the greater part of the
supply is drawn from Richmond Bay. King’s County has
very few or no beds. Formerly those of Malpeque and
Bedeque were very productive and highly esteemed. In New
Brunswick, the beds of Shediac and Cocagne have been the
most famous, and were among the earliest to become exhaust-
ed. Thirty or forty years ago, those of Caraquette and Ship-
pegan were the most productive, but to-day those of the latter
place yield but few, and Caraquette and Bay du Yin give the
largest returns. In Nova Scotia, the greater part are taken
in the Bras d’Or Lakes, at Grand Narrows, Washabuck,
Whycocomagh, River Dennis, etc., and at Tracadie, Pugwash,
Wallace and Antigonish on the main land.

In Prince Edward Island, it is estimated by Mr. J.
Sharp, cf Summerside, that about one thousand barrels are
required yearly for home consumption in the latter place, and
the same quantity in Charlottetown. Considerable quanti-
ties are also consumed at other places on the Island, but far
the greater portion are exported to New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia, and the upper Provinces. A few are exported to
Newfoundland, and lately a few to Chicago and Milwaukee.

In St. John, Mr. J. A. Turner estimates that no less than
ten thousand to twelve thousand barrels of Oysters are con-
sumed annually; of these all but about five per cent are
native, the United States Oysters being imported during the
close season and in the winter. The former cost about $2.50
per barrel in St. John, and the latter from two to three times
as much.

In Halifax, Mr. Wilson, a large dealer, thinks that from
one thousand five hundred to two thousand barrels are used
annually, and about twice that quantity in the entire Pro-
vince. About one-tenth or less of these are United States
Oysters; the remainder are the greatly preferred natives.
The latter cost about two dollars and fifty cents to importer
and three dollars per barrel to the consumer, while the former

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

57

cost from five dollars per barrel upwards, and are imported
chiefly in the winter.

All agree, that price and other conditions being equal,,
our native Oyster is preferred to the imported, on account
chiefly of its better flavor.

We have not been able to prepare statistics to show the-
value of the importation of United States Oysters into Canada.
But it is enough to say that Canadian beds do not produce*
nearly enough for Canadian needs, and not too much to say,
that Canadian beds are capable of supplying Canadian needs-
and much more, if properly managed.

The immense fertility of the Oyster can find no more
forcible illustration than the above table. That in the face-
of reckless and unrestrained over-fishing, destruction of the
young, polution of the water by mills, and, in a measure,,
by mud-digging machines, cutting to pieces of the beds by
the latter, disregard of the spawning season and other griev-
ances, the Oyster-yield should be actually increasing is sur-
prising enough. This continuation of the supply, however,,
has been in great part due to the discovery of new beds as-
old ones became exhausted, and the utilization of previously
known but inferior ones; but we must now be well nigh their
end. It is interesting to note, as one must in looking over
the Fishery Keports, how the point of greatest productiveness-
has shifted about during the past fifty years. Our beds have
always been considered public property,* to be fished by any-

*Denys’ description of the mod^ of taking the Oyster prior to 1672, is not only"
interesting in itself, but in many respects would stand as a description of opera-
tions to-day.

“ I have spoken of Oysters in the first book, but I have not told you that they'
are a great manna for the winter, when the season does not allow of going a-fishing.
They are in the coves or on the coast near the land. To get them, the ice is brokenv
a large opening is made ; then are provided slender poles long enough to touch the-
bottom. Two of them are bound together about the middle, then they are opened
and closed like tongs. They are taken from the water and thrown upon the ice.
This fishing is never resorted to unless there are several persons; some fish, another
makes the fire, another shells them for frying, others place them on the coals, two
or three in a large shell, with their water, with crumbs of bread and a little pepper
or nutmeg. They are cooked like this, and it is a good feast, and when they are
well filled, each one takes his load, and the dogs draw, each one a bag-full on a little
sled, which is made very light for them ; harnessed like a horse they go always running
over the ice or snow; they are the ones which carry all the equipage of the hunters. ,r

Oysters are still taken in Acadia by tongs or rakes. The dredge is never used;.

58

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

one and his neighbor, and laws for the rational protection of
the fishery have been imperfect or provided no means for
their own enforcement.* There is bylaw a close season, from
June 1st to the 15th of September, but is only partially
observed. The true condition of affairs has been repeatedly
pointed out by the Fishery Inspectors, and remedies suggested
by them. Mr_ W. H. Venning, Inspector for New Brunswick,
has urged year after year the necessity for government inter-
ference, and Mr. J. H. Duvar, Inspector for Prince Edward
Island, in his very full reports for 1880-87 has repeatedly
summarized the whole matter. To the easily accessible reports
of these two Inspectors,! and to that of Mr. Whiteaves, all
(mentioned below, those interested in the subject should turn.

In Prince Edward Island, and to a certain extent in the
other Provinces, the value of Oysters as food is rivalled by the
value of their shells as a fertilizer. In the estuaries are im-
mense deposits of dead shells, the remains of old beds killed
by silt or other causes. These are mingled with fine rich
-mud and decomposing animal and vegetable matter, forming
a muck of the richest character. Before the plough the shells
break up and give the land the lime in which Prince Edward
Island is very deficient. This mud is known as Mussel-
mud, though in most cases it consists almost entirely of Oyster-
shells. It is taken by large machines worked on the ice by
horses. As to its value, Mr. J. Hunter Duvar, in his report
for 1879, says: — “The digging of Mussel-mud for manure —
Mussel-mud being the shells of old Oyster-beds — is very harm-
ful to the live beds, but it is scarcely to be doubted that the
benefit to the country is of more absolute value than the pre-
servation of the Oyster ; ” again in 1880, “It is not saying
too much to assert that the product of grass and grain has

* Mr. J. H. Duvar writes, — “ In the present unsatisfactory and muddled state of
-the Oyster-law in Prince Edward Island, nobody will risk private Oyster-beds, but
I have on file over thirty applications for sites for culture so soon as the Department
will decide on places.”

tThose of Mr. Duvar, especially, are admirable expositions o* the state and
needs of the Canadian Oyster-fishery, and have been much consulted in the pre-
paration of this paper. They are written by one personally familiar with the
subject.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

59

'been increased one-third by the use of this mud during the
few years since it began to be generally unde use of.” It is

• clear, as there is other testimony also to show, that the pro-
tection of the Oyster must be so managed as to allow of the
staking of the Mussel-mud by the farmers.

There are two futures open to the Oyster-industry of
Acadia; free fishing by the people and a lingering death, or
vigorous government interference and a great and lasting
prosperity. This is the kernel of the whole matter — govern-
iment interference. It has worked well in other countries ;
it would, under the same conditions, work well in this. The
duty of the government, if it take charge of it, would be two-
fold,— to regulate the fishery on the public beds and to give
encouragement to culture by corporations or individuals. As
to the first, the position and extent of beds must be determined,
.and each one given a period of rest, being fished not oftener
than once in three years; the close season should be vigorously
enforced; fishermen must, under heavy penalties, return to
the water all Oysters under a certain size; mud-machines
must be restricted to certain places in each district, being
.given ample liberty but not allowed within a certain distance
of any living bed; mills must not be allowed to discharge
sawdust into the water within a long distance of a living bed;
fishing through the ice should be regulated so that refuse
cannot be allowed to fall on the beds. As to the encourage-
ment of culture, laws should be enacted which would give to
a culturist as good a right to his product, and as full protec-
tion from theft, as has a farmer. Areas in good localities
should be set aside and leased for long periods, but as a rule
the public beds should not be trespassed upon. Some beds
should always be reserved for public fishing; freedom to
take wild game under common sense conditions, the Dominion
should be very slow to take from its citizens. Private indivi-
duals should be encouraged to take their seed-oysters from
our own beds, as there are none better nor so good for our

• climate. A measure which might be needful would be the
.appointment of a commissioner, who should be a man trained
in the best methods of culture of Europe and the United

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

States, who could give his whole time to the work; who could
not only scientifically investigate the needs of our own region,
but also direct the work of private culturists.

Oyster-culture has been tried in Acadia, but under many
discouragements. Hon. Mr. Pope, in Kichmond Bay, Prince
Edward Island, and Hon. Mr. Macfarlane, in Wallace Harbor,
Nova Scotia, have had moderate success.* It has been tried,
too, as Gaspe, at Bic and at Seven Islands, in Quebec, and in
Passamaquoddy Bay, but these are Outside the range of
the Oyster, and where the temperature is too low in summer
for the development of the young.

It is to systematic culture that the Oyster-industry must
look for its future. France leads the world in Oyster-culture,
England and Germany are far behind, and the United States
comes last of all. This whole subject is too vast to be more
than alluded to in this paper, but references to the more
important works will be found below. Oyster-culture is
carried to greatest perfection at Arcachon, in France. There
are used elaborate means of arresting the Spat or young by
providing clean, hard supports to which they may attach
themselves. The latter are either tiles, faggots, old shells
strung on wire or other similar devices. As soon as the young
are from half an inch to an inch in diameter, they are removed
and placed in artificial ponds in which their growth is care-
fully watched until they are marketable, which occurs in from
two to three years. They are usually fattened in special
ponds. From this high state of culture down to the simple
removal of the Oysters from the natural beds to places
favorable for fattening or bloating them (as the case may be)
for the market, there is every gradation. A thorough know-
ledge of the subject is a study for a lifetime, a profession in
itself.

There is no doubt that the coasts of the Acadian Oyster-
region are extremely well adapted for Oyster-culture. Almost

* Mr. J. H. Duvar recently told the writer that,— “ Messrs. Pope’s Oyster-farm,
at Squirrel Creek, Richmond Bay. ... is still in profitable existence. W. A. Pope

died and the property went to his brother, Hon J. C. Pope Later, the

Oyster-lot lay vacant for a long time, until bcught last year by Mr. Richards, who-
works it profitably.”

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

61

everywhere around Prince Edward Island and the New
Brunswick coast are shallow salt lagoons as well as many
places where artificial ponds could be cheaply made. It has
been proven by Prof. J. A. Ryder, that they can be raised in
shallow ponds from artificially hatched eggs in the United
States, and there is no reason to suppose that the same would
not be possible with us. Seed-oysters of the best quality are
at hand in the old beds. Another circumstance of the highest
importance is the scarcity of Oyster enemies on our North
Shore. The Starfish, which does annually more damage to
the beds of the United States than the entire Canadian fishery
is worth, is rare and does little damage on the North Shore.
One old oysterman of Shediac told Mr. Ingersoll, of the United
States Census Staff, that he had only seen three Starfishes in
his life. The “ Drill” (Buccinum cineream), though present
not common. Mr. Whiteaves did not find it at all in his
examination of the Shediac beds. The same may be said of
the Purple-shell ( Purpura lapillus), another enemy; it is
present but rare, and was not seen by Mr. Whiteaves. The
writer has made a careful examination of a large box of mud
from the North Shore beds, which was taken from the barrels
containing Oysters. In this, among the two dozen or more
species and hundreds of individuals of Molluscs which live
with the Oyster on the beds, not a single specimen of either of
these species wras found. Again, on the coast of the United
States, two very destructive animals are the two Conchs or
Winkles, Gasteropod Molluscs several inches in length, the
Sycotypus canaliculatus and Fulgur carica. These are
entirely wanting in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and if our beds
are planted from our own, as they should be, there is no danger
of their introduction. It surely must be an immense advan-
tage to any culturist in our waters, that some Oyster-enemies
are comparatively harmless and others entirely wanting.
Doubtless, the reason for the scarcity of the above forms is
due to the generally sandy character of the region, most of
them being rock-loving species. Tiles for Oyster-culture could
be made as cheaply in these Provinces as in the United States,
and it is possible that some of our slate rocks could be utilized <.

'62 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

for this purpose. Many other minor conditions are also
favorable, and there is an immense market both in Canada
and the United States, for many times the quantity now
produced.

The Oyster has but few uses aside from those mentioned.
Its shells are used in Oyster-culture, to spread on the beds for
the young to attach themselves to, and they are also much
used in road -making in parts of the United States, and they
have even at times been burned for lime.

Works of Reference.

»(a) General.

Oyster. By J. T. Cunningham and T. Brown Goode.
Encyclopaedia Bntannica, 9th Ed., Vol. XVIII.,
1885, pp. 106-110.

Fisheries Exhibition Literature, London, 1884, Vols.
V., VI. and XI.

Natural History of Useful Aquatic Animals, Washing-
ton, 1884, 4°, pp, 771-758.

Fishery Industries of the United States, Washington,
4°, Vol. II., Section V,, pp. 507-565.

Reports of the Maryland Oyster Commission.

. (b) Anatomy and Development, etc.

The Oyster, Clam, and other common Mollusks. By
A. Hyatt. Boston, 1884. 65 pp. Several plates.
The Development of the American Oyster. By W. K.
Brooks. Studies from Biological Lab, Johns-
Hopkins Univ., IV., pp. 1-104.

Report on New York Fisheries for 1884. New York,
1884.

>-(c) Oyster-culture.

Oyster-culture. By W. F. G. Shanks. Lippincott’s
Magazine, Vol. XXVII., 1881, pp. 479-492, cuts.
[Good popular account at that date.]

Bulletins of the United States Fish Commission from
Vol. I., 1881, up to the present. [Contain records
of culture in America and translations of foreign
works.]

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

63

The Oyster and Oyster-culture. By Karl Mobius.
Bep. U. S. Fish Commission for 1880, (Published
1883). pp. 683-757, and the important papers
following.

Eeport on the Oyster and Mussel Industries of France
and Italy. Bep. U. S. Fish Commission for 1880.
(Published 1883). pp. 825-883.

(d) The Oyster in Acadia.

A Beport on the Oyster-Industry of the United States.
By Ernest Ingersoll. U. S. 10th Census, Section X.,
Monograph B, pp. 3-11.

Notes on the Marine Fisheries, and particularly on the
Oyster-beds, of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. By J. F.
Whiteaves. Appendix to Beport of Minister of
Marine and Fisheries. Canadian Naturalist. Yol.
VII., 1874, pp. 336-349.

Annual Beports to the Minister of Marine and Fisheries.
Ottawa. Beports of Mr. W. H. Venning and Mr.
J. H. Duvar for various years, particularly 1879,
1880, 1881, and later.

Beport of the Commissioners appointed to report on
the Lobster and Oyster Fisheries of Canada. By J.
H. Duvar, Secretary, and others. Ottawa, 1888.
65 pp.

11. Pecten teimicostatus Mighels and Adams.

Pecten Magellanicus Lam.

Smooth Scallop, Scallop.

Mic-mac , Sakskataas-uk. Passamaquoddy , Sah qui-
took yik.

[ Pecten , a comb; tenuicostatus, slender-ribbed.]

Distribution, (a) General; — Extreme low-water mark
to one hundred and nine fathoms. New Jersey (rare south
of Cape Cod) to Labrador.

(1) In Acadia ; — (in N. B.) Grand Manan, ten to twenty
fathoms, rather rare, Gould. Passamaquoddy Bay and Bay

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

' 64

of Fundy, common, one to one hundred and nine fathoms,
Verrill. St. Croix River, near Dochet Island, not plenty,
Fuller. L’Etang and Chamcook Harbors, abundant in former,
Ganong. Mace’s Bay, Perley and G. F. Matthew. Northum-
berland Strait, Whiteaves. Between Tracadie and Shippegan,
Perley. (In N. S.) Bay of Fundy Coast, large, VerTcruzen.
Bear Island Bar, Annapolis Basin, extensive beds, Perley.
Bedford Basin and Halifax Harbor, H. Piers. Whole coast?
Jones and Willis. Prince Edward Island, Dawson. Probably
not so abundant in Gulf of St. Lawrence as in Bay of Fundy
and on the Atlantic coast.

Habits. This is one of the most attractive Molluscs of our whole
. coast. Its smooth, nearly circular valves, one flat, the other convex,
and its large size (five to six and even eight, in an extreme case, inches
in diameter) will readily distinguish it from any other species in our
waters. The under or flat valve is very smooth, free from parasitic
growths and of a white or cream color. The upper, usually of some
reddish color, while free from the pronounced ribs that so many of this
genus have, frequently bears many parasitic forms, Barnacles, Bryozoa,
etc. Very many have this valve covered with a gelatinous coating which
. can be easily removed; this is not an epidermis, but colonies of compound
Ascidians of the genus Leptoclinum. It is really a beautiful shell, the
interior being smooth, white and satin-like; the exterior, especially in
young shells, presents delicate and attractive colors, some of them show-
ing beautiful pink and white radiations; while its valves can be utilized
for many decorative and artistic purposes.

Our Scallop lives upon hard, sand, or mud bottoms, feeding upon
microscopical animals and plants. It has the advantage over all others
of our shelled Molluscs in the ease and speed with which it can move
about. The powerful adductor muscle can bring the valves together
with great force and quickness, ejecting the water on the side opposite
the hinge, and thus shooting the animal several feet in the opposite
direction. The young Scallops can swim in this way better than the
adults, their shells being much lighter. The southern Pecten irradians
■ often swims in schools, all together in some definite direction, but we do
not know that this has been observed in the species we are considering.
The young are eaten by cod and probably other fishes.

Economics. Our Scallop is not the species which is of so
much commercial importance in the United States. The
latter is a much smaller species, Pecten irradians , the shell
of which is covered with very large radiating ribs. But those

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

65

who have tried them declare that our Scallop is quite as good
food as is Pecten ir radians. In all probability, methods of
capturing, preparing for market, utilization of shells, etc., of
the latter would apply equally well to our species.

Pecten irradians is taken on the coast of the United States
between Cope Cod and New Jersey. It has been found within
the limits of Acadia also, at Sable Island. But it is too rare
to be of any commercial value with us. The annual value of
the fishery to the United States is about $28,000 to $29,000,
this being the price received by the fishermen for from 70,000
to 75,000 gallons of the edible parts. The fishery gives
employment to about 250 men and 470 women and children.
Mr. Ingersoll, in the paper referred to below (a full and
interesting treatment of the subject) says of the mode of
taking them, — “ Scallops are caught by hand-dredging from
small sail-boats. The dredges are about thirty inches in
width, have a scraper-blade upon the bottom, and in favorable
weather several may be thrown over from each boat. In
shoal water an iron-framed dip-net is sometimes used on calm
days. It is pretty hard work, and entails exposure to very
severe weather.” The only part ever eaten is the large muscle
which closes the valves. These are cut out, cleaned and sent
to market where they are sold by the quart. All other soft
parts are utilized for fertilizers, while the shells are valued,
above all others, by Oyster-culturists for catching the Spat or
young Oysters. Their special fitness for this use comes from
their fragility and rapidity with which they fall to pieces
under the influence of decay and boring parasites. The young
Oysters fall apart as the shells -break, and overcrowding,
dwarfing and distortion is thus prevented. They become
full-grown in little over a year; those born in June of one
year being full-grown by the following October and at their
best in December. The flesh, while very agreeable to some
persons in spite of its sweetish taste, is to others not only
disagreeable, but actually injurious, producing sickness.

So much for a southern species. How does our native
•Scallop compare with it in the particulars above mentioned?

In the work by Mr. Ingersoll, quoted below, he says, —

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

‘ 4 The great Pecten tenuicostatus on the coast of Maine and1
the Bay of Fundy, was formerly highly valued by the people
of that region, but now is too scarce to appear on the tables
of even ‘the rich’ except at rare intervals.” . . . “The
huge, smooth-shelled Pecten tenuicostatus of the north, as big
as a fruit-plate, which formally abounded on the coast of
Maine, has now become so rare as to be a prize in the cabinet
of the conchologist rather than an edible commodity — a result
unquestionably due to over-greedy catching.” We believe
that while the case here stated may be true for the Maine
coast, it is not so for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Large
numbers of them still live in L’Etang Harbor and other inlets
both on the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia shores of the
Bay of Fundy. From the former locality large quantities are
occasionally brought in schooners to St. John.

Mr. Willis, thirty years ago, said it was common on the
whole coast of Nova Scotia, and that it “furnished the
residents of Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, Chester, etc., with
many a rich treat. In these localities it is said to be very
abundant, and more easily obtained than in most other parts
of the Province.” Nicolas Denys knew of their abundance
there, for in 1672, he says of La Have Harbor, — “In which
there are countless numbers of Scallops [Conniffle], which
are great shell-fish like those which the Pilgrims bring from
St. Michael and St. James. It is excellent eating.” The
fishery returns for Nova Scotia give the only official notice of
Scallops which are given for any of the Provinces. That of
1886 gives 300 dozen Scallops as taken in Lunenburg County,
worth fifty cents per dozen, or $150; that of 1887 gives for
the same county 600 dozen, worth $300. In New Brunswick,
a schooner occasionally brings a quantity to St. John from
L’Etang Harbor or Mace’s Bay where they are taken by
dredges, and they are sold direct from the vessel. The quan-
tity thus sold is estimated to be about two hundred bushels
annually. It is frequently eaten by the fishermen of the
Charlotte County coast. In the Halifax market, not many
are sold. The usual price is fifty cents per dozen, but not
infrequently they bring much more. In Prince Edward Island

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

67

it is sometimes eaten, though according to Mr. J. H. Duvar,
it is not much esteemed there. It can be taken, he says, in
moderate quantity. No Scallops are imported from the
United States into Acadia.

As to the value of our species for food, as compared with
the southern form, the testimony is all one way. Mr. Willis
says that it, and the species next to be described, Pec, ten
Islandicus, were considered delicacies in Nova Scotia, and
that he had known them, when offered for sale, to sell readily
for one shilling sterling each. Mr. Ingersoll, as mentioned
above, refers to its excellence, and persons who have tried
both have assured the writer that our Scallop is quite as good
as the southern form. It has the advantage also of being
larger than the latter. The muscle, the only part eaten,
must be twice the size.

The shells are made useful for many purposes, and here,,
again, our species has the advantage. The valves are
frequently used as dishes in fishermen’s families, and even
by professional cooks. Indeed, it is said that, “ From its use,
by cooks now, this shell [£. e., Scallop shells in general] has
given the name to ‘ Scalloped ’ oysters.” The valves of the
young of this, and those of the following species, are made to
form part of pin-cushions, needle-books and other like
ornaments, while the entire valves are sometimes used as
mantel ornaments. The smooth, satin-like interior faces,
particularly of the flat valves, take both oil and water colors
well, and frequently are used as placques for painting upon.
Their use by Oyster-culturists has been already referred to,
and our species ought to be even better adapted for this
purpose than P. irradians. No doubt there are many other
minor uses found for this attractive shell.

Works of Reference.

The Scallop and its Fishery. By Ernest Ingersoll. American
Naturalist, Vol. XN., Dec. 1886, pp. 1001-1006.

General Remarks on the Use of the Genus Pecten by Man in
Modern and Ancient Times. By R. E. C. Stearns.
Overland Monthly. Vol. X., April, 1873, pp. 342-344.
The Scallop Fishery. Fishery Industries of the U. S. VoL
II., Sec. V., pp. 565-581. 5

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

12. Pecten Islandicus (Muller) Chemnitz.

Scallop, Iceland Scallop.

[ Pecten , a comb; Islandicus, Icelandic.]

Distribution, (a) General; — Low-water mark to one
hundred fathoms. Cape Cod (very rare to the south of it) to
the Arctic Ocean and around the North Atlantic to Northern
Europe and Great Britain.

(b) In Acadia ; — (in N. B.) Grand Manan, twenty-five to
forty fathoms, shelly bottoms, Stimpson. Common in Bay

FlG. 10. — Pecten Islandicus . Natural Size.

of Fundy, low-water mark to one hundred fathoms, Verrill.
L’Etang Harbor, large, though not abundant, Ganong. (In
N. S.) Annapolis Basin, few small specimens, Verkruzen.
Whole coast, Jones. Halifax Harbor, Willis. Not yet
reported from Prince Edward Island. [Rev. George Suther-
land, in his Natural and Civil History of Prince Edward

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

69

Island, 1861, mentions Scallops, “ with large ribbed shell,
and serrated edge,” as occurring on the coast of Prince
Edward Island. This description would apply both to this
species and the following, but better to the latter than the
former.] Probably rather common on Bay of Fundy and
Atlantic coasts, and much less so in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Habits. This is a more northern species than the last and less
abundant in our waters. It is much smaller than the latter, rarely
exceeding four inches in diameter and is readily distinguished from it
by its raised radiating ribs, fifty to one hundred in number, which bear
closely crowded, transverse, erect scales. The “ears” or triangular
projections from the valves which form the hinge, are unequal in size
and shape in this species, though equal in P. tenuicostatus. In habits it
appears to resemble the latter very closely, living in perhaps more
rocky situations, but moving, taking its food and so on, in the same
way.

Economics. In its usefulness to man, this species cannot
be distinguished from Pecten tenuicostatus. It is equally
good for food and its shells may be used for the same purposes.
Willis tells us that he has known it to be sold with the latter
for one shilling sterling, each, in the Halifax market, and
that it is quite as delicate food. Its greater scarcity must
make it much less valuable. It is probably never taken
separately from its larger relative, and is not distinguished
from it by the fishermen.

13. Pecten irradians Lamarck.

Pecten concentricus Say.

Scallop.

[ Pecten , a comb; irradians, radiating.]

Distribution. ( a ) General ; — Low-water mark to thirty
•or forty fathoms. Gulf of Mexico and Florida, north to
Massachusetts Bay. Sable Island.

(b) hi Acadia ; — Reported only from Sable Island, by John
Willis.

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

Habits. This is the Scallop which is of so much importance in the-
United States markets. As it is so rare in Acadia, indeed hardly coming
within the limits of this paper at all, it is not thought best to describe it
in detail. When found, it may be distinguished from our two Scallops
described above, by the coarse radiating ribs, about twenty in number,
and the nearly equal “ears” or lateral projections from the shell,
forming the hinge. Its habits resemble those of P. tenuicostatus, described
above. It is possible that it may be found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
along with the southern shells there, and if not, it is extremely probable
that it would flourish there if introduced. Indeed, as mentioned under
the last species, a Scallop having a “large ribbed shell and serrated
edge,” has been described as living on the shores of Prince Edward
Island. It may be not improbably this species.

Economics. Its use to man may be best described in
connection with our native Scallop, as both are available for
the same purposes.

14. Mytilus edulis Linnaeus.

Edible Mussel, Black Mussel, Sea Mussel.

Mic-mac , Angadaalow, pi. Angadaalak. Passama-
quoddy , Sah tah sis ik.

[Mytilus, the ancient Greek name; edulis, edible.]

Distribution, (a) General ; — Littoral zone to more than
one hundred fathoms. North Carolina to Arctic Ocean and
circumpolar. On European coast, southward to Mediterranean
and Black Sea; on Asiatic coast to China and Japan; on
Western American coast to California.

( b ) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Exceedingly abundant every-
where on the southern coast from Grand Manan to St. John,
and probably much further. Bay Chaleur, Bell. Shediacr
Whiteaves. (In N. S.) Annapolis Basin and Digby Gut,,
common, Verkruzen. Whole coast, Jones . Prince Edward
Island, Dawson. Very abundant everywhere on the coast of
Acadia.

Habits. Without doubt, this is the most common and abundant
Mollusc on the coast of Acadia. There is probably not a mile of shore
on our whole coast line which is without it, and everybody who visits-

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

71

the sea-shore must know it well. There is only one common Mollusc at
^11 likely to be mistaken for it — and that is the Horse-mussel, Modiola
modiolus. But the former is blue-black generally, and the latter is
chestnut, or rather its epidermis is, and their situations or habitats are
different, as will be seen by reading the descriptions of both. A good
mark to separate them is found in the position of the umbo, or raised
knob around which the concentric lines of growth of the shell are
arranged ; this is at the extreme end in M. edulis , but set a little back
near one margin in Modiola modiolus. Its lack of raised ribs distinguishes
it from M. plicatula.

This species varies somewhat in color, the variant individuals being
of a darker or lighter horn-color, and generally showing radiating,
longitudinal, dark lines. These forms are by some considered to form a
•distinct variety — to which the name pcllucidus is given. Within, the

Fig. 11 . — Mytilus edulis. Natural Size.

•shell is dark-violet, silver and white, and often very beautiful. The
average length of adults is about three inches, though they grow as great
as five, and even over eight inches in rare cases in Europe. They vary
greatly in outline, the nature of the variation of an individual depending
chiefly upon the conditions under which it has grown.

It is a fact of no little importance to man, as will be presently seen,
that the edible Mussels are gregarious. All visitors to the shore remember
well the great beds, often acres in extent, which are found on the flats,
especially of estuaries. They never burrow, but instead, fix themselves
by means of a mass of silky threads which are secreted b}r the foot and
pass out between the valves. With these they can attach themselves to
.any surface, sand, mud and gravel, rocks, piles of wharves, buoys,
bottoms of boats, and, in fact almost anywhere. They prefer, however,
mixed gravel and mud flats where the water is not quite pure, but has
some admixture of river water. The mud flats they add to, both by

72

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

collecting sediment among themselves, packed closely together as they"
are, and by their own decay and decomposition. The beds are found'
both between tide-marks and in shallow water, and the latter produce
the larger specimens. Indeed, the largest are found isolated, for the
crowded, tangled mass in the beds does not allow of large growth.

Though ordinarily fixed by the byssus, they can travel a little when
needful. The foot is thrust far out in advance to attach new threads by
which it draws itself along, breaking off the old ones behind. It lives
upon microscopical animals and plants, chiefly upon the latter. It has
some enemies, chief among them, the food fishes, all of which are
exceedingly fond of it. Crows, the Purple-shell (P. lapillus), the Star-
fish, and (in England) the Sea-urchin, all are destructive to it.

The height of the reproductive season appears to be April and May.
The young, after leaving the body of the parent, swim about for a few
days and then settle upon some firm surface. They grow very rapidly;,
there are cases knowm in wThich they have grown to full size (three to
four inches long), in one year. In most cases, however, they require
two or three years.

Economics. Our edible Mussel is, without any question,
identical in all respects with that of Europe. And without
any question, also, it is adapted for the same uses. In Europe,,
the uses to man of this species may be roughly classed under
four heads, the following being their order of importance.

a. As bait in the fisheries.

b. As human food.

c. As a fertilizer.

d. Minor uses for ornaments, etc.

In America the order is quite different. The third in the
list certainly stands first, but it is difficult to state the order of
the other three, which apparently stand about on an equality.
In Europe, it is a Mollusc of great importance, being second
only to the Oyster; we almost ignore it. There, it entirely
replaces our common Clam, which, though abundant, is
rarely used either for food or for bait. Is it not a curious
fact that each country should prize the one the other neglects?'
Why do they not each value both? It would be interesting
to learn how this condition of affairs came about in this
country; in other words, how the early settlers, always-
conservative of old customs, and used to European ways,
abandoned them and took to new? Did they imitate the-

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

75

Indians, who, we know, used the Clam to the almost total
neglect of the Mussel?* And are not the Europeans of to-day
wiser than we in this respect, that they use a form, which,
equally good with the other, lives on the surface and can be
easily gathered, and besides is susceptible of easy artificial
cultivation anywhere, while we take that for which we must
laboriously dig, which requires more special conditions of
soil, and which, only with difficulty, can be artificially
propagated? A consideration, therefore, necessarily brief,
of the economics of this species in Europe, may suggest some
useful lessons to us,

{a) Its Use as Bait in the Fisheries.

We are told of its use in England (Fisheries Literature)
that, — “ The Mussel is admitted on all hands to be the most
deadly bait for salt-water fish; ” and again, — “ The Mussel is
perhaps the best kind of hook bait known.” What have our
fishermen, who use the Clam and the Squid, to say to this?

In England and Scotland it is especially valued, and it is
estimated that no less than the enormous quantity of one
hundred thousand tons annually are required for this purpose
in Great Britain alone. The single port of Eyemouth required
for its fishing vessels during the season of 1881-82, eight
hundred and ninety tons of Mussels. Three Scottish villages
have been known to use, in one week, sixty-one tons.

These figures will show what an enormous drain upon the
Mussel beds of Britain there must be for this purpose alone,
not taking into consideration those used for food. It has
been too great for the natural product, and the fishermen
have been forced to importation and to artificial cultivation.
In 1881, twelve thousand tons, mostly for bait, were
imported from Holland into England.

They are gathered by those who make a business of it, by
hand, when above low-water mark, and by a sort of grapnel-
dredge when below it. They are taken to the fishing grounds

* As shown by the Indian shell-heaps. Lescarbot (1609) corroborates this in the
following,— “ But yet they [i. e., the Mic-macs] have a superstition, not to wish to

eat Mussels. Yet they cannot give a reason for it Nevertheless in our

company, seeing us eat them, they did likewise.”

74 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

alive (our fishermen take their Clams and Squid salted), and
they will remain so for some hours (one writer says for two
days), when placed on the hook and suspended in the water.
It is thought that this fact is the chief element in its success
as a bait. It is used for all kinds of fish which bite at a hook,
■cod, haddock, etc., and although in deep water and far from
land, Whelks ( Buccinum undatum) are sometimes preferred,
the Mussel is much the best all-around bait. The Swedish
fishermen use it in preference to all others, as probably do
•other European fisher-peoples.

In the United States we cannot find that it is ever used
for bait, nor in any part of Canada, except very rarely and
locally. In Acadia, we do not know that it is ever used for
this purpose;* can any one tell us the reason? It is more
.abundant and more easily obtained than the Clam, has a
lighter shell, is easier to open, is probably more tenacious of
life, and has other apparent advantages.

( b ) Its Use as Human Food.

Of all European countries, France probably uses the most
Mussels for food. In 1873, the fishery was estimated to be
worth $160,000, in part from natural and partly from culti-
vated beds. Belgium also produces many, and it was estimated
in 1873 that there was exported from Antwerp to Paris alone
£280,000 worth, all taken from natural beds. From many
parts of the English coast they are sent inland, where they
.are eaten in all towns, but the greater supply for the London
market is imported from Holland. In London, £4,000
worth are sold annually for food, at a price of about one
penny per quart, ranking in value as the third shell-fish, the
Oyster being first, and the Periwinkle second. Statistics for
the whole of England are wanting, but the quantity must be
enormous. It is used largely as a substitute for Oysters — in
making fish-sauces, and is also cooked in other ways. In

* As this paper is in press, Mr. H. Piers writes the author that on the Atlantic
coast of Nova Scotia, “ they are not sold for bait, but are occasionally used by the
fishermen when nothing better can be had.”

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

75

France, they are considered good throughout the year, but at
their best in August and September.

In the United States, New York is the centre of its use as
food. Considerable quantities are there pickled and sent
inland. The total annual value of the Mussel fishery in the
United States is estimated at about $37,500, but of this a small
part only is for its use as food; its chief value is as a fertilizer.

In Acadia, it is but little used for food. It is very rarely
used by the fishermen, and is quite unknown in the markets
of St. John. In Halifax, Willis said of it thirty years ago, that
it could be purchased in the markets when in season, of large
size and fine flavor, for about two shillings sterling per bushel.
It is still sold in the Halifax markets, though in small
quantities. The usual price is ten cents for a half-peck, or
about fifty or sixty cents a bushel.

In Prince Edward Island it does not appear to be used at
all for food.

As to its general excellence as an article of food there can
be no question. Some tables, to show its value compared
with other shell-fish, will be found in the introduction (p.9). In
Europe, it is eaten by all classes, but is especially a luxury of
the poor. Gould says that he has been “assured by a friend
of acknowledged good taste, that when cooked it is more
palatable than the common Clam;” and in this opinion many
others will concur. But at the same time, it is undoubtedly
true that there are persons who not only dislike them, but to
whom they are very injurious. Each person must determine
this for himself, using them at first with caution.*

It is true, also, that in addition to this occasional constitu-
tional danger, Mussels are sometimes, though very rarely,
really in themselves poisonous, and injure everybody who may
eat of them. Such cases, however, are no more frequent
than poisoning by eating partridges in the spring is with us,
and not nearly so frequent as is poisoning from eating canned
fruits and meats. This, therefore, should be no hindrance to
their use, proper precautions being observed.

♦The symptoms, which must serve as danger-signals, are great swelling in the
head and the abdomen and the appearance of red spots on both.

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

As to the cause of the poisoning, we have* not perfectly
satisfactory knowledge. In general, it appears to be due to
the exposure of the Mussels to impure waters. Some years
ago a case of violent poisoning in Wilhelmshaven, in North
Germany, which resulted in the death of several persons, led
to a careful investigation. It was shown that the fatal Mussels
had been taken from the harbor of the town, in which the
water, though salt, is quite stagnant, clear water entering in
small quantities at high tide only. Fish could not live in it,
and even the all-enduring eel became weak and helpless,
Experiments proved that all the Mussels of the still water
were poisonous, but that upon being removed to clear water
they quickly became harmless; on the other hand, perfectly
good Mussels, placed in the harbor, were soon very poisonous..
Prof. Virchow found that only the liver contains the poison,
and that it can be rendered harmless by cooking the animal
in a solution of soda. The best antidote is said to be a
quantity of milk. The safest way, according to this investi-
gator, is to remove the liver from every specimen to be eaten.
It is a large yellowish-brown soft body enclosing the stomach
on the upper side, and involved in numerous loops of the
intestine. The conclusion to be drawn from these facts is,
that Mussels from stagnant or impure waters should always
be avoided, and everybody ought, before eating them, to know
whence they came. It is thought, too, that they may be
injurious when taken from docks in which copper-bottomed
ships are moored, or from harbors in which there are mineral
lodes exposed to the action of the water. Several writers have
thought that the striped variety { var . pellucidus) is poisonous.
As mentioned above, however, these cases of poisoning are very
rare, and should prove no impediment to their free use, proper
precautions being taken to bring the supply from pure waters.

(c) Its Use as a Fertilizer.

When a great bed of Mussels is exposed on a flat in an
estuary, it is constantly catching the fine silt which the fresh
water deposits when it meets the salt. The animals live their
short lives, die, and are buried beneath their progeny. The

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

77

lime of the shells, their animal matter, and the rich silt, go on
accumulating, and soon form a mass of the richest fertilizer.

In Europe this fact has been fully recognized, but there
the living Mussels are far too valuable to be used to any
extent for this purpose; so valuable, that it has been proposed
in England to make it a penal offence to take them for
manure. The latter step is necessary because of the near-
sightedness of the farmers, who would totally exterminate
them if allowed.

In the United States, it is taken along the coasts of Long
Island and New Jersey in enormous quantities for this purpose,
though it does not seem to be much used farther north. Its
value to the United States is estimated at $37,500 yearly,
nearly all of which is for its use as a fertilizer.

In Acadia, all have heard of the “ Mussel-mud ” of Prince
Edward Island and the North Shore of the two other Pro-
vinces. A large part of the Mussel-mud, however, probably
very much the largest part, consists of the remains of the
Oyster. The subject has been considered at some length
under that species. We have found no evidence to show that
the Mussels are taken separately for this purpose.

Upon the Bay of Fundy coast, the farmers make but little
use of what would appear to be a mine of agricultural wealth
at their very doors. Everywhere about Passamaquoddy Bay
there are great beds, the use of which ought greatly to benefit
the land.

(d) Otheii Minor Uses.

In England, it has been proposed, and it would be equally
applicable in this country, to plant Mussels on breakwaters
of gravel and other shifting substances, and upon beaches
exposed to the wearing action of the waves, in order to bind
them together, just as beach-grass is used on the sand-dunes
of Cape Cod. They would quickly fix themselves, and by
their tough, interlacing, tangled byssi or beards would soon
form a tough but elastic coating.

It is thought also that they can be used to prevent the
ravages of Teredines or Ship Worms on timber of wharves
and the like, by coating the latter completely.

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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

Pearls of some beauty are not infrequent in these Mussels,
but they are rarely large or perfect enough to be of value.
Forbes and Hanley say, — “They are commonly small, ill-
colored, and of little value, yet have been at various times
much sought for.” They have brought from one shilling
and sixpence to four shillings per ounce. In the “First
Report on the Fauna of Liverpool Bay,” p. 241, we are told,
— “ Some years ago, large quantities of Mussels were raked
up in Conway Bay, and boiled in huts on the east shore to get
seed pearls. These were bought by a traveller at four shillings
per ounce. A woman could earn twelve shillings per week at
this harvest. The trade has ceased.” Sometimes the whole
interior of the shell is covered with little pearl-like excres-
cences, the result of the efforts of the animal to protect
itself from a boring sponge.

Simmonds, in “Commercial Products of the Sea,” tells
•us of the shells, — “ When polished, they are made into pretty
needle-books and scent-bottle holders, earrings, crosses, pins
and pin-cushions. They are mounted on marble as paper
weights, and are used as a receptacle for gold and silver paint
for artists. The Maories of New Zealand employ Mussel
shells as tweezers to eradicate the hair from their faces.”
Mr. Ingersoll says the American Indians also used them for
the latter purpose.

The shells are also spread on Oyster-beds by cultivators, as
a support to which the young Oysters may attach themselves.

On Mussel Culture.

As in the case of the Oyster, the demand for Mussels in
Europe is far too great to be supplied from natural beds.
Extensive cultivation is the only remedy, and in this France
leads all other countries. A full treatment of the subject,
for which we have not space here, will be found by those
interested, in the volumes of the Fisheries Exhibition Litera-
ture and other works quoted below. A very brief outline
must suffice here. There are two modes of culture practised
dn Europe; one known as the British method, in which young
Mussels are taken from salt or nearly salt water and trans-

THU ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

79

ported to the banks of estuaries where they are exposed for a
time at low tides, and where the water is brackish. Both
these conditions seem to be necessary to secure their rapid
growth and fattening. The presence of some fresh water is a
necessary condition to success in Mussel culture. The French
method proceeds upon a different principle; it consists in
placing convenient supports for the Mussel “ Spat,” or free-
swimming young, to attach themselves to. For this purpose
palisades of coarse wicker-work are placed in the path of
currents which would otherwise sweep the young away. As
soon as they have attained a length of an inch (which is in a
little over a year, on an average) they are removed with hooks
and placed on the bottom. Later, they are removed to above
low-tide mark; again, higher up the beach, and again, still
higher, there being four removals in all. In a year after the
first removal they are ready for market. There are many of
these Mussel-farms in France, the principal ones being at the
Bays of Aiguillon and Chatellaillon, at Esuades, Charvon,
Marsilly, at St, Yaleny-sur-Somme, at Arcachon and other
places. The most perfect system is attained at the latter place.

They are also cultivated in the Bay of Kiel, in North
Germany, where small trees, fixed upright below low-water
mark, have been recommended for catching the Spat.

In England, there is comparatively little done in Mussel-
culture as yet. Attempts so far have had to struggle with
the drawbacks of imperfect legislation. It is agreed that the
culturist should have the same exclusive right to work his
area and dispose of his product as has the farmer, and there
should be as stringent laws to protect the one from trespass
and theft as they are for the other. Such laws, however,
until very lately at least, were wanting. It is estimated that
an acre of Mussel-beds, properly cultivated, will yield one
hundred and eight tons, worth at least fifty-four pounds per
year.

The time will certainly come for Acadia when the Mussel-
fishery will be a large industry. It is to be hoped that it will
be wisely regulated during its life, and not left to be doctored
when near its end.

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BULLETIN OF TH E NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

The only way in which the Mussel seems to be of
injury to man, excepting the cases spoken of above, is when
it grows on Oyster-beds. It grows faster, lives on coarser
food, and is altogether better fitted for the struggle for
existence than the Oyster. It also collects mud, and by all
of these causes tend to crowd out the more valuable Mollusc.
We have not heard that it is known to do any injury to our
Oyster-beds in this way.

Works of Reference.

Mussel. By E. Ray Lankester. Encyclopaedia BritanniGa,
9th Ed., Yol. XVII., 1884, p. 110.

The Utilization of Localities in Norfolk and Suffolk Suitable
for the Cultivation of Mussels and other Shell-fish. By
Charles W, Harding. Bull. U. S. Fish Commission,
Vol. II. 1882,, pp. 83-88.

Report on the Oyster and Mussel Industries of Italy. Report
U. S. Fish Commission for 1880, pp. 683-757, and other
papers in the same volume.

Molluscs, Mussels, Whelks, etc., used for Food or Bait. By
Charles W. Harding. Fisheries Exhibition Literature,
Yol. VI., 1884, pp. 301-316.

The Best Means of Increasing the Supply of Mussels and
other Molluscs (Oysters excepted), used either for Bait or
Food. Two essays. By T. F. R, Carr and J. C. Wilcocks.
Fisheries Exhibition Literature, Yol. XI., 1884, pp.
413-444, and 445-485.

The Mussel Fishery. Fishery Industries of the U. S., Sect. 5,
Vol. II., pp. 615-622.

The Harvest of the Sea. By J, E. Bertram. 2nd. Ed.
London, 1869, pp. 410-417.

Poisonous Mussels. Science, Vol. VII., 1886, pp. 175-176.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

81

15. Modiola modiolus (Lin.) Turton.

Nytilus modiolus , Lin.

Horse-Mussel.

Modiola, a little measured); modiolus , a little measure(’).

Distribution, (a) General; — Low- water mark to one
hundred fathoms. New Jersey to Arctic Ocean, and circum-
polar. On European coast, southward to France; on Asiatic,
to northern Japan; on western American, to California.

(b) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Abundant on the southern
■coast everywhere from Grand Manan at least to St. John.
Shediac, Wliiteaves. (In N. S.) Annapolis Basin, somewhat
abundant, Verlcruzen. All rocky shores, Jimes. (InP.E.I.)
Not reported but doubtless occurs. Probably to be found in
rocky situations around the entire coast.

Habits. This species more closely resembles Mytilus edulis than any
•other Mollusc. It is generally larger than the latter, growing to a
length of six, and in extreme cases, mentioned by Willis, eight inches.

FlG. 12. — Modiola modiolus. Natural size.

It never has the blue black color of M. edulis, but instead has an
epidermis of a dark chestnut or brown color. The umbo (or centre
around which the lines of growth of the shell are arranged) is at the
anterior or small extremity in M. edulis, but set a little back on the
hinge margin in this species.

It does not, however, live in great beds above low-water mark as
does M. edulis. It prefers gravelly and stony bottoms to which, half
buried in the former, and half hidden in crevices in the latter, it

82

.BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

attaches itself by its strong byssus, or “beard” of threads. Those torn;
from their hold in the tide-pools, bring away a large mass of gravel
with them. Their mode of life may be well studied in the tide-pools
about Passamaquoddy Bay, where they may be seen under the clear
water with their posterior ends just above the bottom, gaping widely
open. The shells bear many growths, both animal and vegetable, the
most important of which are the great Laminarice, or “ Devil’s Aprons,”
our largest sea- weeds. In storms these often drag their anchors, and the
Mussels are thrown up with them on the beaches.

Economics. The Horse-Mussel is used for food in Eng-
land, though to no great extent and only locally. Mr. Willis
says in his time it was never exposed for sale in the markets of
Halifax, and this seems to be true at present. The fisher-
men eat it very rarely, if at all, unless pressed by necessity.
Some of them believe that the byssus or “ beard,” and probably
the foot from which it springs, are poisonous. The writer has-
been told of two fishermen, who, storm-stayed at the Wolves,
ran short of provisions. They ate Horse-Mussels and one of
them died a few hours later. If his death really was caused
by the Mussels, it is altogether probable that the byssus and
foot really are the poisonous parts, and until we have further
information on the subject, they had better be removed
before the animal is eaten.

This species is also very good bait, and is said to be exten-
sively used for that purpose in Newfoundland. But it is so
much harder to obtain than Mytilus edulis (every specimen
must be torn up by main force, unless carried up by Lamin-
arice) and so much less common and less accessible, that it is-
never likely to be of very much value.

The shells are usually very beautiful within, having often
a delicate pearly lustre. They ought to be available for many
ornamental objects, such as trays for trinkets, and the
like. Occasionally pearls of poor lustre are found in them,,
but we have not heard of any of value.

In Europe it has been used to some extent to bind
together the shifting materials of breakwaters on sea coasts.
The tough threads of the byssus bind together everything
within reach and a coating of these animals forms a strong
and elastic buffer against the force of the waves.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

83

16. Modiola plicatula Lamarck.

Ribbed Mussel.

[ Modiola , a little measure (?); plicatula , somewhat folded].

Distribution, (a) General ; — Between tides and in very
shallow water. Georgia to Casco Bay, Maine. Gulf of St.
Lawrence.

(b) In Acadia ; — Not formally reported from the New
Brunswick coast, but doubtless occurs upon the North Shore.
North Shore of Nova Scotia, Jones (on authority of {Willis).
Prince Edward Island, Dawson. Probably occurs all around
the southern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and in Bras
d’Or Lakes, and possibly in some part of Ohedabucto Bay.

Habits. This species may easily be distinguished from the
common or Horse-Mussel by the longitudinal foldings or ridges of its
shell. These begin near the hinge and radiate to all the posterior part.

FlO. 13. Modiola plicatula. Natural Size.

It liyes in brackish water, preferring ditches and sluggish marsh
streams. It partly burrows into the mud, well up towards high-water
mark, and attaches itself by a strong byssus, or mass of threads.

Economics. It is sometimes eaten, but is not considered
as good as Mytilus edulis. It is a useful bait, but compara-
tively little used, chiefly, no doubt, on account of its scarcity.
It does not appear to be used for either of these purposes in
Acadia, In New Jersey and about Long Island it is employed
as a fertilizer, and in all probability it occasionally forms a

small part of the “ Mussel-mud ” of our North Shore.

6

84 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

17. Margaritana arcuata (Barnes) Stimpson.

[The fresh-water Mussels of Acadia have not been
well studied. Willis and Jones mention several species
as occurring in Nova Scotia; Mr. G. F. Matthew knows
of several in New Brunswick; and Dr. Dawson has
reported two species from Prince Edward Island. It
is uncertain how many of these may produce pearls,
perhaps all of them under the requisite conditions.
Mr. Matthew tells the writer that Mr. S. E. Gerow has
identified Margaritana arcuata in the Society’s collec-
tion, as the pearl-bearing species of our waters.]

Fresh-water Mussel, Fresh-water Clam, Pearl-Mussel.

Mic-mac , Sebooaas-uk.

[ Margaritana , a pearl; arcuata , arched].

Distribution, (a) General; — Fresh-water streams of
North-eastern America.

(h) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Streams of southern counties,
8. E. Gerow. (In N. S.) Rivers in Annapolis, Sackville
River, Willis. All fresh-water streams, Jones. Not reported
from Prince Edward Island.

Habits. Our fresh-water Mussels are in general not unlike their
salt-water namesakes in appearance and habits. The epidermis or outer
skin varies from straw-color to olive-green, and is not attractive, but
within the shells nearly always show the beautiful changing colors of
mother-of-pearl.

They generally lie partly buried at the bottom of the pond or
stream in which they live, with the posterior end protruding and
gaping open. But by means of their powerful “ foot,” they can travel
with some facility, and one often sees on sandy bottoms the long
furrows left by them in their progress. The young are kept for a time
in the gills of the parent. Our eastern species present little variety as
to shape, size and color, but those of the west show the most remarkable
diversity in these respects.

Pearls are, for the most part, found only in old or deformed shells.
Mr. Gerow says that young or even middle-aged specimens very rarely
or never contain them. They are believed to be formed only as the
result of some disease, injury or irritation to the animal. Some
naturalists have thought that the free perfect pearls are formed by the

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

85

■ deposition of the pearly material around grains of sand or other
accidental intrusions, for the sake of rendering the latter less irritating
to the animal, and this is the generally received opinion. The pro-
portion of individuals containing them is, however, very small; not one
in a thousand contains a pearl of real value. The Mussels found in
clear, running, gravelly streams are most likely to contain them.

Economics. Pearls are obtained from fresh-water Mussels
in several parts of the world, notably China, Japan, Germany,
and formerly, Scotland. They are also found in the United

■ States, and some rivers have been systematically worked for
them. Those of Scotland were formerly held in high esteem
and have brought very high prices. A complete discussion of
the subject may be found in the papers mentioned below.

In our own waters some very valuable pearls have been
found in the fresh-water Mussel. Mr. S. E. Gerow, of the
Customs, St. John, is the most expert and successful pearl-
fisher of these provinces. The following facts have been
given by him to Mr. S. W. Kain, and the latter has kindly
allowed the writer to quote them.

The largest pearl Mr. Gerow knows of that has yet been
found in Mew Brunswick, weighed fifty-six grains, and was
sold to parties in Philadelphia for four hundred and fifty
dollars. . . . This was found in a brook near Sussex, Kings
County. Mr. Gerow found one himself at Coldbrook, which
weighed twenty-five grains, and he sold it for one hundred
and fifty dollars. It was a very beautiful pearl of splendid
lustre and perfect shape. He found another at the same
place worth one hundred and fifty dollars, and weighing
nineteen grains. Little New River, he says, is a good place
for them. He found one there that weighed eighteen grains,
and sold for one hundred and ten dollars. A man who was
with him found one that he sold for thirty dollars. Mr.
Gerow stated that he had seen a pearl from Nova Scotia that
sold for seventy-five dollars. St. John, Kings and Charlotte
are the only counties where he knows of much search having
been made. Mr. Gerow found another weighing fifty grains,
but it was not symmetrical. It was flat on one side, but of a
very good purplish lustre. He sold it in New York for one

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hundred dollars, and another of similar shape in St. John for
the same price.” These, of course, are very exceptional
instances, the great majority of those found being small, of
poor shape and of bad color. It must be borne in mind, in
considering these facts, that a great amount of persevering
labor and considerable skill is required to obtain such results.
Its returns are too uncertain to allow the fishery ever to be of
much economic value.

Works of Reference.

Pearls. By F, W. Rudler. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9th
Ed., Vol. XVIII., pp. 446-448.

Pearls and Pearl-fisheries. By W. H. Dali. American.
Naturalist, Vol. XVII., 1883.

18. Cardium Islandicum Linnaeus,

6 ardiurn ciliatum Fabr.

Cockle.

[ Cardium , heart-shaped; Islandicum, Icelandic].

Distribution, (a) General; — Near low-water mark to
fifty fathoms. Cape Cod to Greenland, and circumpolar.
Northern Europe, Behring’s Straits, Japan.

( b ) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Grand Manan, twenty to forty
fathoms, mud, Stimpson. Rather abundant in sheltered
places, also found in Friar’s Cove. (In N, S.) Annapolis
Basin, rare, Verlcruzen. Halifax Harbor, Willis and Jones.
Not reported from Prince Edward Island nor southern part
of the Gulf. Probably occurs in mud and fine sand in many
places in the Bay of Fundy and on the Atlantic coast of Nova
Scotia.

Habits. This is a very well-marked species, and, except in its
young stages, cannot be confounded with any other on our coast. The
valves are of a rounded form, and very convex or much hollowed out.
On each, radiating fan-like from near the hinge, are about thirty-six
raised angular ribs, which, on the free edge, give the shell a scalloped
or crenulated appearance. The epidermis frequently rises into a bristly
fringe on their summits, especially in young specimens, and this, with

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87

the fact that the summits are angular, will distinguish the young of
this species from Cardium pinnulalum which has flattened ribs bearing
scales, and no such epidermis. It is in our waters from two to two and
one-half inches long and nearly as broad.

Of its habits, very little is known. It lives partly buried in mud
or fine sand under a few fathoms of water. It must feed altogether

Fig. 14. — Cardium Islandicum. Natural Size.

'upon microscopic organisms, plants and perhaps animals. It would
probably have to be taken in a dredge of large mesh— so constructed as
to allow the mud and gravel, etc., to pass through. It could probably
■be cultivated in our waters.

Economics. This species is never, so far as we have been
able to learn, been eaten in America. It is inserted in this
paper on account of its close relationship to the edible
Cockle ( Cardium edule ) of Europe ; without doubt it is edible,
and is probably as good food as the European form, which it
resembles closely in nearly all respects. The chief distinguish-
ing mark between the two to the non-scientific observer is
the smaller number of ribs, twenty-six, in Cardium edule ,
C. Islandicum having thirty-six.

The European Cockle lives on sand beaches and the banks
of estuaries. We are told in the Fisheries Exhibition Litera-
ture that “It is equally good, raw or cooked, and may be

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eaten in almost any numbers with impunity. It may be
boiled or roasted, eaten alone, or as a sauce to fish.” It is
gathered all the year round and sells for five pounds a ton.
So important is the fishery in England, that two bays alone
produce £35,000 worth of Cockles a year, Morecambe Bay
alone producing £20,000 worth annually. In view of these
facts it is well for us to keep in mind that we have a Cockle
upon our own coast.*

The shells of our species are sometimes employed for
making small articles of ornament.

19. Venus mercenaria Linnaeus.

Mercenaria violacea Schum.

Quahog or Quahaug, Hard Clam, Round Clam, Little-
neck Clam.

Mic-mac , Boogunumowas-uk. Acadian French , Pal-
lude (?).

[Venus, Venus; mercenaria, used in trade].

Distribution, (a) General; — In shallow water. Florida
to Massachusetts Bay. Casco Bay and Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Has been introduced into Europe.

(b) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Caraquette, Bell. Bay
Chaleur, Shediac, Whiteaves. (In N. S.) Halifax, Sable
Island and Fishing Banks, Gould (on authority of Willis ).
St. Mary’s Bay, “ pretty abundant,” Verhruzen. Whole
coast, common, Jones. Prince Edward Island, Dawson. It

* As this paper is passing through the press, the following appears in a Boston-
newspaper, too late for its insertion in its proper place.

“New Industry. — Manchester-by-the-Sea, June 23. A new industry has
recently started in Manchester. The scarcity of bait has led the fishermen to bait
their trawls with Cockles and they prove much better than herring, as dogfish will
not touch them, and, as they are tough, they will hold on the hooks much better.
It is not uncommon to see from twenty to thirty men on the flats picking Cockles’
and from fifty to seventy -five buckets are secured at each tide.”— Boston Record,
June 2Uth, 1889.

Through the kindness of Mr. Andrew Lee, 2nd, of Manchester, the writer
received specimens of these “Cockles,” which proved to be not Cardium, but
simply Buccinum undatum and Lunatia heros.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

89

is evidently common in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, from Bay
Chaleur to Cape Breton. It seems strange, however, that it
should be reported as being common all around the coast of
Nova Scotia, when it is totally unknown upon the Bay of
Fundy coast of New Brunswick. It is probably to be found
wherever the Oyster lives, and being somewhat more hardy,
occurs rather beyond those limits.

Habits. This species is well-known to all oystermen and frequen-
ters of fish-markets. It is a bivalve shell, having two very thick and
heavy valves of a dingy white or ash color. Upon these are well

Fig. It. — Venus mercenary a. Natural Size.

marked, very regular, concentric folds, which become quite sharp where
not wan by friction. Inside they are chalky white, except at the
smaller end, where they are usually of a beautiful purple. The margin
is finely crenulated around three-fourths of its circumference. The
shell is roughly heart-shaped in outline, about three and one-half inches
long when full grown, and two and three-quarter inches high. These
characters will distinguish it from any other form found upon our
coast. The purple color is wanting in young shells, quite variable in
amount in others, and is often covered by a thick white glazing in very
old ones, while in certain cases it is wanting altogether.

Of its mode of life, Prof. Yerrill says, — “ Common on sandy shores>
living chiefly on the sandy and muddy flats, just beyond low-water
mark, but is often found on the portion laid bare at low water of spring

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tides. It often inhabits the estuaries, where it most abounds. It burrows
a short distance below the surface, but is often found crawling at the
surface, with the shell partly exposed. It has short siphon tubes,
united from the base to near the ends, and a large, muscular foot, with
a broad thin edge, by means of which it can easily burrow beneath the
sand w hen necessary** It clearly occupies much the same localities as
the Oysters upon our North Shore, as it is along with them that it is
usually taken. As it lives upon or very near the surface, it can be
-captured by raking or dredging, just as Oysters are; in the United
States it is taken either by long-handled tongs -or by the dredge.

Economics. In the United States this species ranks next
to the Oyster as an article of food. Its annual value was
estimated in 1883 to be $657,747. that of the Oyster being
$13,439,000. These figures will show how valuable a Mollusc
of our waters we are almost totally neglecting.

South of New York this is the common Clam of the
markets. Between New York and Boston, this and the soft
Clam, Mya arenaria, occur about equally in the markets,
while north of Boston, the latter replaces the former. The
best sell in New York for about three dollars per barrel,
wholesale. Smaller ones are sold for sixty cents to one dollar
per bushel. The smallest are used chiefly for pickling.
They are taken from small boats by raking. It is also
extensively used as bait. It sometimes contains pearls of white,
blue, purple, violet or mixed colors, but they are rarely
clear enough to be of any value.

This species has been introduced into several places in
Europe, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. It has been
acclimatized in the Dee, and, perhaps, also on the Cheshire
coast, and at Bordeau, in France, but at least one attempt to
make it live at Arcachon, in the south of France, has failed.
These efforts to introduce it into Europe show how highly it
is valued by people who have it not in their own waters, and
they should have a lesson for us who value it little though
abundant on our own shores.

In Acadian waters we cannot find that it is ever fished for
separately. It is taken with Oysters and sold along with
them. In St. John it is rarely or never sold separately,
though in Halifax, where a few bushels a year are disposed

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSC A OF ACADIA.

91

■ of, it is sometimes sold by itself. Some persons consider it
poor food, but its great use in the United States proves
beyond question that it must be on the whole an exceedingly
good food-mollusc.

This species has an interest for us also, from the fact that
the purple part of its shell furnished the material for the purple
wampum of the eastern Indians. White wampum, as has been
mentioned (p, 12), was made chiefly from the columellae or
central columns of the two species of Busycon (also known as
Fulgur and Sycotypus, and sometimes Pyrula). The purple
was worth twice as much as the white, and both were made
in the form of tube-shaped beads, perforated and polished ;
their value depended upon their polish and general perfection.
It was a real currency among the Indians, true money, and,
as one old writer says, — “their mammon.” It was the chief
medium of trade between the whites and Indians along the
southern New England coast. The former, however, took to
manufacturing it themselves, and this naturally led to depre-
ciation of value and many abuses. Laws were passed
regulating its use in trade, and it continued to be manufactured
until within about fifty years, for use in the west. A very
full and interesting discussion of this whole subject may be
found in the first of the works mentioned below.

Among the Canadian Indians it was very extensively used.
Early explorers (including Cartier) refer to it, and Kalm, the
Swedish botanist and traveller, saw it in the middle of the
last century among the Hurons and below Quebec. Charlevoix,
in his letters (London, 1763), refers to “ Wampum from the
Venus shell,” (p. 132) and gives a most interesting description
of it. It was very highly valued by the Indians of Acadia,
as Lescarbot tells us,* but was used by them for ornament
rather than for money. It was also used by the Acadian
Indians as well as by those of the south and west, as a sort
of record of events, treaties, etc. Gesner tells that the
Mic-macs had wampum records, and Charles Leland, in his
“ Algonquin Legends,” mentions that the Passamaquoddys
have wampum records at Pleasant Point, Maine, which

* See introductory part cf this paper, p. 13.

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can be read at present by only a single Indian. The only
other evidence of its use in Acadia that the writer has
been able to find, occurs in a paper by Professor L. W.
Bailey, in No. VI. of this Society’s Bulletin, entitled,
“ On the Belies of the Stone Age in New Brunswick.” He
mentions that some shell beads were found with the bones of
a child upon the Tobique Biver. He says, — “ They would
appear to have been derived from the common fresh water
Clams (Unio and Anodonta), and, considering the circum-
stances under which they were found, were probably of true
Indian and domestic manufacture, rather than imported or
imitative products, such as were abundantly made for purposes
of barter, in more thickly settled localities.”

The Molluscs, from the shells of which white wampum
was chiefly made, are entirely wanting upon the shores of
Acadia, though that from which the purple was made, viz.:;
the species we are now considering, was abundant; yet
Lescarbot gives us to understand that neither kind was made
in Acadia. He did not know, however, from what the purple
wampum was made; he supposed it was from jet or a kind of
wood. The Quahog must have been extensively used by
them as food, and it seems strange that they should not have
learned from the tribes to the south to make it themselves.

Works of Reference.

Wampum and its History. Bv Ernest Ingersoll. American
Naturalist, Vol. XVII., 1883, pp. 467-479.

Aboriginal Shell-money. By B. E. C. Stearns. Proc. Cal.
Academy, Vol. V., pp. 113-120. Also American Nat-
uralist, Vol, III., 1869, pp. 1-5.

Fishery for Quahogs, Fishery Industries of the U. S. Sec.
V*, Vol, II., pp, 595-613.

20. Cyprina Islandica (Lister) Lamarck.

Black Quahog.

[ Cyprina , from Kupris, a name of Venus; Islandica , Icelandic].

Distribution, (a) General ; — Shallow water to ninety
fathoms. Long Island to Arctic Ocean, and around the-

TIIju ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OP ACADIA.

93

North Atlantic to Northern Europe, Great Britain and
Portugal.

(£) In Acadia ; — (in N, B.) Grand Manan, rarely found,
Stimpson. Bay of Fundy, six to ninety fathoms, Verrill •
Passamaquoddy Bay, Ganong. Northumberland Straits,
Whiteaves. (In N. S.) Halifax Harbor, common, Jones.
Annapolis Basin, St. Mary’s Bay, not abundant, VerTcruzen.
(In P. E. I.) Not specially reported, but doubtless occurs.
Probably to be found on mud and sand bottoms all around
the coast.

Habits. This is one of the two or three Molluscs popularly
included under the name Quahog — Venus mercenaria being the true
Quahog. In general appearance these two shells are much alike, their

FlG. 16. — Cyprina Islandica . Natural Size.

shape, especially, being very similar. But they may always be distin.
guished by their color, which, in the latter, is ashy or chalky-white,
while in the former, if the epidermis is present (as it nearly always is)
it is a dark burnt-brown, or nearly black color. This species wants the
purple color of the interior of V. mercenaria, and differs from it also in

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being larger and more nearly circular in outline. The young have the
epidermis lighter in color — a light, yellowish horn-color. It is three
and one-half to four inches long and nearly as high.

It is never found living where it can be exposed even by the lowest
tides, and hence, can be taken only by dredging or when cast up by the
waves. It seems to prefer mud bottoms, and Gould says, — “ is most
frequent near where some river empties into the ocean. v It does not
live very deeply buried, as it is frequently cast up on beaches in great
numbers by the waves after a storm.

Economics. A useful and good food-mollusc, and fre-
quently eaten along with Venus mercenaria , from which it is
not usually distinguished except by large dealers. It is said
by good judges to be of very good flavor. Willis says it is
considered excellent food in Nova Scotia. The writer has
seen, at Lynn Beach, Massachusetts, dozens of men collecting
this species which had been cast up in great numbers after a
heavy storm. Many of them were shelled upon the spot, while
the rest were carted away to Lynn. They seemed to be highly
esteemed by those who were taking them. We do not know
whether or not they are ever cast up in numbers upon our
own shores, but they are taken not infrequently in dredging.
They are neither abundant enough nor easily enough obtained
to make it pay to take them for market. We cannot find
that they are ever sold by themselves in our towns. They
are a food of Cod and perhaps other fishes.

21. Mactra solidissima Chemnitz.

Mactra, gigantea [of Willis].

Spisula solidissima Gray.

Sea-clam, Giant-clam, Hen-clam, Beach-clam, Surf-clam.

[Mactra, a kneading-trough; solidissima . very solid].

Distribution. (a) General; — Low-water mark to ten
fathoms. Florida and Gulf of Mexico to Labrador.

(b) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Grand Manan, Stimpson .
Bay of Fundy, low-water mark to ten fathoms, Verrill .
IPassamaquoddy Bay, large and abundant, Ganong. Shediac,
(Point du Chene, Whit eaves. (In N. S.) St. Mary’s Bay, very

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSC A OE ACADIA.

95

large, Verkruzen. Mahone Bay, St. Margaret’s Bay, Sable
Island, Willis. Sandy beaches, whole coast, Jones. Prince
Edward Island, Dawson. Probably occurs in sandy situations
where there is clear water around the whole coast of the three
provinces.

Habits. When fully grown this is the largest shell upon our coast.
From the common Clam it is distinguished by its greater size and
proportionall}7 greater weight, as well as by its shape. Unlike the latter,
its sides slope directly away from the hinge so as to give it a rounded-
triangular shape. When young it is covered with a dull-brown or straw -

FlGr. 17. — Mactra solidimma. Two-thirds of Natural Size,
colored epidermis, which becomes mostly worn off in old specimens,,
and is entirely absent in those cast up by the waves. Large specimens
are six inches in length, but J. Matthew Jones mentions a specimen
from Sable Island seven and one-fourth inches long and six and one-
half in breadth, and Willis gives them even a larger size.

It lives only in sand, and in situations where the water is clear. It
burrows like the common Clam, but not deeply and does not form
permanent burrows as does the latter. It is only uncovered at the
lowest tides.

Economics. It is used for food and is also put up for
bait. Gould says it “is much esteemed by some as an article

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of food, but it is apt to induce severe pain,” while Ingersoll
says it is by some considered unwholesome. Willis, however,
states that it is considered a wholesome and nutritious article
of food. Prof. Verrill writes that in large specimens the meat
is usually tough, but the younger ones are quite as good as
either the hard or soft Clam ( V. mercenaria or M. arenaria).
It is eaten by the fishermen of the Atlantic coast of the United
States. They dig it with shovels at lowest tides, but those
beyond reach of this method are taken by sharp sticks which
are thrust between their valves by men wading. The latter
keep pushing the stick into the sand and when it passes
between the open valves of an animal they close upon it and
the animal is easily drawn up. Its comparative scarcity and
the difficulty of getting it prevent it from being of as much
value as the other Clams, yet it has been estimated to be worth
for bait in the United States, from $30,000 to $40,000
annually.*

The heavy shells are utilized for many purposes. The
Indians used them as hoes for their corn in New England,
and fishermens’ wives use them for scoops, skimmers, etc.
They are often used for painting on, and are not infrequently
for sale in seaport towns decorated with marine views of
varying degrees of excellence.

In our Provinces it is sometimes eaten by the fishermen,
but we cannot find that it is ever exposed for sale in the mar-
kets, except rarely in Halifax. Verkruzen states that it is
eaten at St. Mary’s Bay, Nova Scotia, and the fishermen
on the Charlotte County coast occasionally eat it. It would
be used more, no doubt, could it be more easily obtained.

22. Mactra ovalis Gould.

Mactra yonder osa Stimp.

Mactra solidissima [of Willis]. f

[ Mactra , a kneading-trough ; ovalis, oval].

*Another estimate gives its value as $7,500 annually.

+ The writer has not seen Mr. Willis’ annotated list of Nova Scotia Mollusca,
but from the list of edible forms, copied by Knight, he appears to mean what we
call M ovalis when he mentions M. solidissima.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

97

Distribution. (a) General ; — Low-water mark to ten
fathoms or more. Cape Cod to Labrador.

(ft) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Grand Manan, common in
sand at low water, buried at a depth of four inches, Stimpson ,
Verrill. (In N. S.) Annapolis Basin, St. Mary’s Bay, rare,
Verlcruzen. Chester, Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, River John,
Willis. Not reported from Prince Edward Island. Having
been reported from so few places, it is impossible to state its
distribution on our coasts.

Habits. Similar to the last species, M. solidissima, in habits, and
very like it in appearance. It is smaller, rarely exceeding four inches
in length, but it is never distinguished from it by fishermen. The chief
mark by which M. solidissima may be separated from it, is the presence
of striations on the long hinge teeth, M. ovalis having none of these. It
is much less common than M. solidissima , and is a more northern shell.

Economics. Probably it can be used for the same purposes
as M. solidissima , though its smaller size and greater scarcity
must render it less valuable. Mr. Willis says, referring to
this species, that it “sometimes finds its way to Halifax
market, and is readily disposed of.’’

23. Mya arenaria Linnaeus.

Clam, Soft Clam, Long Clam, Sand Clam.

Mic-mac , Aas-uk. Passamaquoddy , Ess-sook (or

Hess.) Acadian French , Cocque,

[My a, perhaps mus of the ancients; arenaria , living in sand].

Distribution, (a) General ; — Between tide-marks to
more than one hundred fathoms. South Carolina to the
Arctic Ocean, Northern Europe and south to England and
France. Northeastern coast of Asia to China and Japan.
Sitka, Alaska.

(b) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Abundant everywhere in sand
and mud on the southern coast from Grand Manan to St.
John and probably much further. Bay Chaleur, Bell. Shediac,
Wliiteaves. (In N. S.) Annapolis Basin and Bay of Fundv,
common, Verlcruzen. Halifax Harbour, etc., very common.

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Jones. Prince Edward Island, common and large, Dawson ..
Abundant on every sand bar, J. H% Duvar. Undoubtedly
one of the most common of Molluscs around the entire coast
of Acadia.

Habits. Ho reader of this paper can require a description of this
species to enable him to identify the Clam. Who does not know
this most ubiquitous of Molluscs? But not so many, perhaps, have
acquaintance with its habits.

Upon every mud or sand beach
around the sea-coast of Acadia, the
visitor will see very many round holes,
half an inch in diameter, from which,
as he walks near them, streams of water
are frequently forcibly ejected. At the
bottoms of these, at a depth of from six
inches to over a foot, according to
locality and character of the soil, the
Clams are to be found, standing up-
right at the bottoms of their burrows, for
such they are. Yet it does not properly
stand upright in the sense that a man
does, for it stands head downwards, the
tough, black, protruding part, common-
ly called the head, not being that organ
at all. If this black part be dissected,
it will be found to consist of two tubes,
the “ siphons,” bound together, with
thick, tough walls, both leading into
the general cavity of the animal in which
all of the internal organs lie. The only
other opening into the animal’s body is
a small one at the opposile end which
allows the animal to thrust out its
muscular, extensible “foot.” It is by
the use of this foot that it can move up
and down in its burrow, within certain
limits, or form a new one if necessary.
If a Clam be placed upright in some sand at the bottom of a glass
vessel of salt water it will need only careful watching, with perhaps a
little experimenting, to show that there is a current flowing into one of
the tubes — that away from the hinge side and the larger— and a current
out of the other, or the smaller one towards the hinge side. The-
dissection of another specimen will show the internal organs in position,.

Fig. 18. — My a arenaria.

One-half natural Size.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

99

and it may then be seen that the entering water must bathe the four
great, flat gills as it passes downwards towards the mouth. These gills
subserve the same function as do those of fishes, for in them the blood
of the animal receives its needful oxygen and gives off its useless gases.
Near the extreme anterior (though lower) end, guarded by four long
ear-like flaps, is the minute mouth, and into it are guided by the flaps
the minute animals, plants and Crustacea upon which it feeds. The
water, now robbed of its oxygen and food materials, passes along the
back or hinge side, taking up useless matters given off by the animal
and passes out through the other tube. These tubes have the power of
great extension, so that when their owner is safe deep in its burrow, it
can push them up to the surface and get clear, pure water At low
water, when the flats are exposed, it retains water enough to last until
the tide covers it again, when, doubtless hungry enough, it keeps up an
active in and out circulation of water. If it is incautious enough to
come to the surface, it is likely to be snapped up by some fish, for
many of this tribe dearly love the Clam. It also lives under many
fathoms of water, where its habits are probably the same. Its time of
reproduction has not been studied carefully in our waters, but probably
does not differ greatly from that of the same species farther south,
Mr, Ryder (see paper referred to below) finds that they give out their
eggs from the tenth of September to the middle of October, The
young are without shells and can swim freely about for a time, a
provision to allow them to be removed from the vicinity of their
parents, and so to prevent overcrowding. They soon settle to a sand
or mud bottom and as they develop the shell, burrow beneath the
surface. They grow to a length of from one to two inches in seven
months, these lengths being exclusive of the tubes. The artificial
raising of the young is considered very difficult, though they may be
transplanted readily to new beds.

Economics. This species has two very important uses —
as human food and as bait in the fisheries. For the latter
purpose it is very extensively used in Acadia, and also in the
United States. Exact statistics of the quantity used for bait
alone are wanting in the latter country, and the Dominion
Fishery Returns probably give but an imperfect idea of the
quantity used in the former. Nova Scotia is the only one of
the Maritime Provinces which gives figures in the reports,
which for the years from 1884 to 1887 are as follows:

1884 750 barrels @ $7 = $5,250

1885 1136 “ 5 5,680

1886 970 “ 5 4,850+ (5100a7foodUSed)

1887 475 “ 7 3,325

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100 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

These are taken chiefly in Queens and Halifax Counties.
Ho doubt the rapid diminution in quantity since 1885 is due
to the greatly increased use of the Squid [which see] since
that time. It is shelled and salted for long voyages, but carried
alive to the fishing grounds when the latter are near home.
Willis tells us that “It is said to be an irresistible bait to both
haddock and codfish.” Mr. J. H. Duvar states in his Report
for 1880, and subsequently has informed the writer, that they
were formerly much used in Prince Edward Island for
mackerel bait and were gathered by the Acadian French who
sold them to the fishermen for fourteen to fifteen cents per
quart, shelled. Their use is now almost superseded by that
of chopped herring. It is used in Gaspe and Quebec even
more extensively than in Acadia.

As an article of human food, it is much more used in the
United States than with us. North of Cape Cod it is the
common Clam of the markets ; south of New York it is
replaced by the Quahog, Venus mercenaria ; while between
those places, both are found in about equal quantities. The
very best come from Guilford, Conn., and sell for about three
dollars per hundred. At this place a few of extraordinary
size are found at lowest tides, the shells being six or eight
inches long, and the animal of good flavor. These sell for
about one dollar and twenty-five cents per dozen, the price
for ordinary sizes being from ninety cents to two dollars per
bushel, wholesale. The latter retail in the markets for from
fifty to seventy-five cents per peck, according to size. In
New Haven they are sold only in winter, and considered out
of season in summer, though in New York they are sold
throughout the year. A system of cultivation has been tried
with good results. The total annual value to the United
States of this species, including the large quantities collected
for bait on the New England coast, is, according to the census
of 1880, about $330,500. $562,376 according to another

report. It has, however, been estimated by Mr. Earll, of
the U. S. Fish Commission, in a speech made at the London
Fisheries Exhibition of 1883, to be as high as $600,000
annually. These figures do not include those taken on

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

101

the Pacific coast, to which it has been recently introduced
and where it is spreading rapidly. It is sometimes taken by
a system of ploughing, but rarely ; the ordinary weapons for
capturing it, are there, as with us, a simple bucket and shovel.

In England this species is used neither for bait nor for
food, except very locally, being replaced entirely for both
purposes by the edible Mussel, Mytilus edulis. This seems
to us very remarkable and unaccountable, considering to what
an extent other Mollusca are utilized there. It must be
remembered that in England this is called the “ Gaper, ” the
name Clam being applied to a species of Scallop, Pecten
•opercular is.

In Acadia no statistics are available to show the annual
value to the three Provinces of this species as food. The
returns in the Annual Fishery Reports give the value of Clams
as bait or else overlook them altogether. By the fishermen
and the people of the sea-port towns it is quite extensively
eaten in New Brunswick, and it is frequently for sale in the
markets. In St. John, Mr. J. A. Turner estimates there are
one thousand barrels per year sold, at an average price of one
•dollar and fifty cents per barrel, wholesale. The largest and
best for city trade are brought from Lepreau.

In Nova Scotia it is very extensively used as food, Willis
says it could be bought in the Halifax market for a shilling
sterling per bushel in the shell, or for about threepence per
quart shelled. At present, over three hundred barrels a year
are sold, the most of which are brought from Cole Harbor
and Chezzetcook. They sell for about ten cents a quart or
six dollars per barrel shelled.

In Prince Edward Island it is very little used as food,
being eaten only by the Acadian French, according to Mr. J.
H. Duvar. It is not improbable that some very large indivi-
duals may be found in favorable situations, such as those
referred to above, from Guilford, Conn. Certainly the sandy
shores and warm summer temperature of the water ought to
favor their growth to a large size.

In the vicinity of the St. Croix River, “Clam-bakes ” are an
institution of venerable antiquity. The Indians probably had

102

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

them, and congenial spirits from the border towns still delight
to return at times to the ways of their Clam-loving predecessors..
On some favored spot on the shores of that splendid river they
assemble by appointment ; a great fire is built and by it many
stones are heated and made very hot. The embers are then
raked aside and upon the stones is placed a layer of wet sea-
weed, on which a layer of Clams is laid. Then comes another
layer of sea-weed and another of Clams, and so on, the top of
the whole being a cushion of sea-weed of extra thickness.
Over the whole mass is perhaps a piece of canvas thrown,
and in such an oven are the Clams slowly steamed to the'
proper degree of deliciousness. A constant concomitant and
the most pleasing feature of these banquets is the invariable
good-nature and good-fellowship which prevails.

The great heaps of shells on the Charlotte County coast,
made as we know by the Indians, show of how much import-
ance this species was to them. It doubtless formed the bulk
of their food during the summer, when large game was out
of condition, and possibly, as Mr. Matthew has shown, to
some extent in winter also. The heaps are sometimes two or
more feet deep, and cover several acres. It was probably
used quite extensively by them in Nova Scotia and Prince
Edward Island also, but as yet the shell-heaps of those
Provinces have received but little attention and we hardly
know anything of their number, extent or contents.

Clams as well as Oysters are sometimes found, in which a
considerable portion of the edible part is of a green or bluish-
green color. This has been repeatedly shown by chemists to
be non-metallic and perfectly harmless, though some think
they have a coppery taste. The color is due to the nature of
the food, being produced when they feed upon certain
diatoms or minute plants (chiefly Navicula ostrearia, var.
fusiformis). Experiments show that the green color can be
artificially produced by feeding them upon these diatoms,
and that it will disappear in a few days when they are changed
to other diet. The green Clams may be eaten with perfect
confidence.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

103

Works of Reference.

The Oyster, Clam, and other Common Mollusks. By Alpheus
Hyatt. Boston, 1884, 12mo., 65 pp., many figures.

On the Rate of Growth of the Common Clam, etc. By John
A. Ryder. Bulletin U. S. Fish Commission, Vol. V.,
1885, "pp. 174-176.

On the Green Coloration of the Gills and Palps of the Clam
(Mya arenaria). By John A. Ryder. Bull. U. S. F'ish
Commission, Vol. V., 1885, pp. 181-185.

The Clam Fisheries. Fishery Industries of the U. S., Sect.
V., Vol. II., pp. 581-594.

24. Mya truncata Linnaeus.

[Mya, perhaps the ancient mus ; truncata, cut short.]

British Gaper.

Distribution, (a) General; — Low-water mark to below
one hundred fathoms. Cape Cod to Greenland. North
European seas to Great Britain.

(b) In Acadia ; — (in N. B.) Grand Manan, low- water mark,
Stimpson . Shediac, Whiteaves. Not abundant on the south-
ern coast. (In N. S.) Halifax Harbor, not uncommon, Jones .
Not reported from Prince Edward Island. Probably not
abundant on our coast.

Habits. This species may be distinguished from the common
Clam {Mya arenaria ), by the shape of the valves, for in it the posterior
■end, or end from which the tubes protude, is cut sharply off, as its name
signifies, and is not evenly rounded as in Mya arenaria. The posterior
end also, even when the shell is closed, gapes widely open, instead of
■only slightly as an Mya arenaria; whence comes the name, given above,
by which it is known in England. The epidermis is prolonged into a
tube posteriorly helping to give the protection which is lost by the
truncation of the shell. It is from two to tlu’ee inches in length. In its
ihabits it is not known to differ essentially from Mya arenaria ,

Economics. It is probable that this species is often dug
with and used for the same purposes as Mya arenaria. Indeed,
as both are variable in form they frequently are much alike,
and it is not probable that they are ever separated by the

104 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

fishermen. They are both useful for the same purposes —
bait and food. Forbes and Hanley tell us that it is eaten both-
in Britain and North America. It is more common in England
than Mya arenaria , but the reverse is certainly the case with
us. It is an important article of food to the Cod, being found
in their stomachs in great numbers, especially on the New-
foundland Banks.

25. Solen ensis Linnasus.

Yar. Americana Gould.

Dnsatella Americana Verrill.

Razor-shell, Razor-fish, Long Clam, Knife-handle.

Mic-mac , Sasabegwit, pi, Sasabegwidul.

[Solen, the ancient name ; ensis, a kind of sword, a scimitar.]

Distribution, (a) General; — Low-water mark to twenty
fathoms. Florida to Labrador.

(b) In Acadia ; — (inN. B,) Grand Manan, at low water, in
sand, rare, Stimpson . Eastport, Gould. Bay of Fundy, Verrill,
Passamaquoddy Bay, Ganong. Shediac, Whiteaves . (In N.
S.) Sandy shores, whole coast, Jones. St, Mary’s Bay,.
Verhruzen. (In P. E. I.) Common in Northumberland
Straits, Dawson. Probably to be found everywhere on the
shores of Acadia where there is sand and clear water, though
nowhere very abundant.

Habits. We have upon our shores no Mollusc so strikingly distinct
from all others as this. Its parallel slightly curving sides and squarely
truncated ends are found in no other of our shells, and they give it a
shape which fully justifies the names of “Razor-shell” and “Knife-
handle,” by which it is commonly known. It grows to a length of about
six inches, though eight inches is not unknown. The young animal is-
covered with a shining greenish-yellow epidermis, which partly disap
pears in old shells, leaving the latter a dull chalky white. At one end
(the posterior) project slightly two short fringed tubes — united below
their tips. At the other (anterior) end projects the powerful “ foot” by
which the animal is enabled to burrow so rapidly in the sand. These-
burrows are found only near extreme low-water mark. They are two to-
three feet deep, and so rapidly can the animals travel down them that

T1I.E ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

105

a man cannot dig quickly enough in the sand to catch them. Fre-
quently at low water they may be found at the surface, with about an
inch of the shell projecting, but if not ap-
proached quietly and seized quickly they
are soon out of reach. A method of catch-
ing Razor-shells, frequently practiced in
England, is to drop a little salt in the
burrow, adding a little water to carry
it down. This is literally putting salt
on their tails, for they stand head down-
wards in their burrows. The irritated
animal always comes to the surface and
can be seized by the hand. Another
method is to push down the burrow a stout
wire, having at its end a barb or hook;
this pierces the animal and it can be easily
drawn up. Both of these methods would
certainly work with our species.

These animals, like most others which
cannot move about, feed on microscopic
plants and animals, which are drawn into
their bodies with water by one of the fring-
ed tubes, the other being for the removal of
waste matters. They are rather fastidious
in their habitat, requiring clean sand and
clear water. They are, hence, not found
on rocky shores nor in estuaries. They
are eaten by some fishes, principally by
the Skates.

.

Economics, Of Razor-fishes in
general, Forbes and Hanley tell us, —

“ They are among the most delicious
of shell-fish when properly cooked —
broiling is the best method.” Willis
says our species is an excellent article
of food, and they have been sold in
the Halifax market for one penny Fig. 19.
each. Mr. J. H. Duvar remarks
that when olfered for sale at rare
intervals in Halifax, they have found purchasers among
epicures. It seems to be entirely unknown as an article of

-Solen ensis, var.
Americana.
Natural Size.

106 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

food in St. John or Prince Edward Island. The fishermen of
the Charlotte County coast, and of parts of Nova Scotia,
know and esteem them, and the same may be true of the
fishermen of other parts of Acadia. The shells are used for
some ornamental purposes.

All testimony goes to show that it is an excellent food
Mollusc, but its comparative scarcity and the difficulty of
obtaining it will prevent its extensive use.

Work of Reference.

Fishery Industries of the U. S. Sect. V., Vol. II., pp.
613-615.

Fig. 20. — Solen ensis , var. Americana, Half Natural Size.
S., SiphoDs; Sh., Shell; M., Mantle; F., Foot.

26. Zirpliaea crispata (Linn.) Morch,

\Zirphcea,— (?j; crispata , wrinkled.]

Date-fish.

Distribution, (a) General; — Shallow water to seventy
fathoms. Connecticut to Gulf of St. Lawrence. Iceland,
Northern Europe to Great Britain and France. West coast
of America, south to California.

(5) In Acadia; — (in N. B.) Grand Manan, very rare,
JStimpson. Bay of Fundy, eight to seventy fathoms, in hard
clay, Verrill. L’Etang Harbor. (In N. S.) Sable Island, large
specimens, Jones (on authority of Willis). Prince Edward
Island, boring in red sandstone reefs, Dawson. Probably to
be found in suitable localities all around our coast.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

107

Habits. This is a well-marked shell and not like any other yet
Tound on our coast. It is a bivalve, each valve of which is somewhat
like that of the Clam. Across the middle runs a furrow, in front of
which the lines of growth rise in regular teeth, which are entirely
wanting behind that line. The shell gapes very widely open both before
and behind, and the dorsal margin in front of the furrow is folded over
outwards It does not exceed four inches in length in our waters, but

Fig. 21. — Zirphcea crispata. Natural Size.

;grows much larger to the south and on the west coast. It is a burrow-
ing Mollusc, and lives in hard clay, soft stone or even submerged wood.

Economics. On the coast of California this species is
extensively eaten. It is, however, much larger than with
us, and is regularly exposed in the markets under the name
of “Date-fish.” It is not abundant enough in Acadia to be
of any value. It appears to do no injury in its burrowing, to
any of man’s works.

27. Teredo navalis Linnaeus.

[ Teredo , a borer; navalis , infesting ships.]

Ship-worm.

Distribution. (a) General; — In submerged timber.
Gulf of Mexico to Vineyard Sound. Gulf of St. Lawrence,
abundant. [Massachusetts Bay to Chedabucto Bay, much less
abundant]. Sweden and Great Britain to Sicily; Algeria and
the Black Sea.

(b) In Acadia; — St. John, Shediac, Pictou, Whit eaves.
^Northumberland Straits, St. George’s Bay, Strait of Canso,

108 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

Chedabucto Bay and all around Cape Breton, abundant and!
very destructive. Also around entire coast of Nova Scotia, but
much less abundant and not troublesome, Martin Murphy ,

[As the species of Teredo inhabiting our waters have not
been well worked out, it is quite probable that there exists at
the localities named above other species in addition to T.
navalis. Indeed, Mr. Murphy, in the second of the papers
quoted below, expressly states that either T. navalis or T.
Norvagica exist all around the coast of Nova Scotia. It is
greatly to be desired that a thorough study of our species
should be made, and all are earnestly requested to assist in
this work. Specimens from our waters, either of the animals
preserved in alcohol, or of the wood containing their burrows
and shells, would be of great value. They should be sent
either to Mr. J. F. Whiteaves, of the Dominion Geological
Survey, or to the writer.

Teredo navalis prefers water warmer than that of the Bay
of Fundy and the Atlantic coast; and hence we find it, though
present, not at all troublesome in these waters. Its range,
where destructive, on the other hand, is nearly coincident with
that of the southern fauna of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Mr. Murphy, in his admirable paper on the Teredo in Nova
Scotia, cited below, misses the explanation of this fact. It
is not because these waters are ice-bound in winter that it
exists there, but because their warmer summer temperature
affords more favorable conditions for the development of its
young.]

Habits. It is difficult to distinguish between the different species
of Teredo, of which more than twenty are known, but the group or
genus, as a whole, is easily recognizable. While differing somewhat in
detail, their habits and structure are in general similar, and a description
of one will answer with but few modifications for all.

Teredo navalis is the best known of all of the species on account of
its great damage to fixed and floating timber works in Europe, par-
ticularly the dykes and docks of Holland. It is by no means certain
that it is the most common species in Acadia, but beyond all question it
does occur on the Gulf of St. Lawrence coast.

In external appearance, the animal fully justifies its common name.
But it is a true Mollusc, and a bivalve like the Clam. Though elongated
and cylindrical, it shows no trace of constrictions. The anterior end,

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

109'

that buried deepest in the wood, is the largest, and at its extremity bears
the two valves, greatly reduced and forming the boring apparatus.
Between them occurs the opening through which the slender “ foot ”
can be protuded, an organ corresponding with the “foot” in the Clam.
Except for this opening the mantle or *•' skin ” of the animal is unbroken
until the posterior end is reached, where the body terminates in two
tubes or siphons, corresponding with those in the Clam. Probably one
of these is for the admission of food and fresh water, and the other for
the excretion of waste water and the wood which passes through the
animal’s body. These siphons can be retracted and the burrow quite
closed by two little calcareous valves or pallets, borne near the siphons.
The latter, when the animal is distended, are at or near the surface of
the wood.

In burrowing, the Teredo generally follows the grain of the wood,
but will cross it when necessary to avoid a knot, nail, neighbour’s tube,

Fig. 22. — Teredo navalis. Twice Natural Size.

or other obstruction. They never pierce each other’s tubes. As the
latter are formed, they are lined by a calcareous layer, more or less
thick, and firm enough to allow large pieces of it to be removed entire
from the wood after the animal is dead. It is still doubtful what
mechanism the animal employs in burrowing. Many naturalists think
the valves, armed by numerous fine constantly growing teeth, form the
apparatus, and that by them the animal eats, or rather files, its way
onward. One observer states, that by breaking away the side of a
burrow, he has actually seen this operation going on; others claim that
the foot accomplishes the work, by the same unknown means by which
certain limpets can excavate rocks. It is pretty generally agreed, how-
ever, that the Teredos do not get nourishment from the wood, but bore
it simply to form a home. Their food consists of minute animals and.
plants, taken into the body through one of the siphons.

110

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

The time of breeding of this species differs somewhat with the
locality, but it takes place generally in the spring or summer months.
They are very prolific. The young at first can swim freely about, but
in a very short time (one writer says four days) they are fully equipped
for their life work, and attaching themselves to wood, begin to bore
their tunnels. After entering the wood, they increase rapidly in size,
so that the adult burrows are many times larger than those by which
the young enter. It is thought that as a rule they do not live longer
than a year or eighteen months. They require pure salt water, free
from sediment, and cannot generally live in brackish or polluted
situations. Their tubes are sometimes ten inches long, but generally
not more than half that length.

A piece of Teredo-bored wood shows but little outward trace of the
condition within. Except for the small holes made by the entering
young, it may appear quite sound, when in reality riddled by the
burrows and composed of almost nothing but their calcareous tubes.

Along with the Teredo , there is frequently found a small crustacean,
Limnoria lignorum, which also forms burrows and is very destructive.
They work, however, in different ways, for the latter attack only the
surface of the wood, and honey-combing it so thoroughly that nothing
is left but partitions between burrows, allow it to be easily destroyed by
the waves. As the outside is removed, they progress deeper, and so
rapidly do they work that an inch a year is frequently removed all
around the largest submerged timbers. The minute size of the burrows,
about one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, and the absence of a
calcareous lining, as well as the presence of the crustacean itself, will
always distinguish its ravages from those of the Teredo. It largely
replaces the latter on those parts of the shores of Acadia where the
Teredo does little harm, i. e., on the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia and
around the Bay of Fundy, and it does great damage in these localities.
It is particularly destructive at Dierby. The Teredo , on the other hand>
perforates the wood through and through, and makes it so fragile that
it will break under a slight shock. It seems to have little preference in
regard to the wood it attacks, the hardest and softest being equally
injured. The southern palmetto is said to withstand it.

Economics. About the years 1730-32, great damage was
done to the dykes of Holland by this Teredo. A general sub-
mergance of the country was threatened, and the consequent
alarm led to the careful study of the habits and structure of
*the animal. Since then, it has appeared in numbers at
different periods. In 1858 fresh alarm was caused, which
resulted in the appointment of a commission to investigate
vthe whole subject and experiment upon different methods for

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

lire

withstanding its ravages. An account of the work of the com-
mission, by one of its members, is given in the first of the
papers whose titles are below.

The animals work with extreme rapidity. In San Fran-
cisco Bay, they have destroyed great timbers within eighteen
months, and even in certain cases within six months. It is
recorded also that in Chesapeake Bay they have perforated
small timbers completely in six weeks. Ships have been
riddled on their first voyages, It is impossible to calculate
the enormous damage annually done by this and allied species
to naval works in different parts of the world.

In our own waters much damage has been done at Pictou
and other places on the North Shore; piles of wharves and
bottoms of ships alike suffer. Mr. Murphy, in his admirable
paper quoted below, says that at Sidney Harbor, Cape Breton?
“ the Teredo is seemingly as destructive, if not more so, than
at any point on our coast.” Mr. Whiteaves, in one of his
reports, tells us that “ Ship-worms of large size are said to be
found at Halifax.”

On the southern coast, their work is likely to be confounded
with that of Limnoria lignorum, referred to above. It was
probably the work of both together that completely destroyed
within a period of six years a large and strong tide-dam at
Frye’s Island, Charlotte County, but it is the Limnoria , as
Prof. Verrill points out, that does the damage to weir-posts
in that region. In St. John harbor they do no damage. Mr.
S. W. Kain tells the writer that piers do not need protection
from Teredo , though Limnoria is somewhat injurious. Pieces
of timber which have been under water for many years show
no trace of the presence of the former, and ships which enter
the harbor infested by them, are free from them within two
days. It is generally believed that this is caused by the great
amount of fresh water in the harbor. Mr. Kain says :
“ There seems to be a consensus of opinion among all shipping
men that the Teredo is not found in the Harbor of St. John,
nor in any harbor where there is any considerable body of
fresh water.” The cause assigned no doubt explains the kill-
ing of those which are brought into and their absence from the

112

BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

Harbor, but does not account for their absence from the
remainder of the Bay where clear salt water is found. No
doubt the low temperature of the water in the summer months,
making the conditions for their young so unfavorable, is to be
thanked for our comparative immunity from them.

Such being the relation of Teredo to man’s interests, it is
not surprising that great attention and much experiment
have been given by practical as well as scientific men to
methods of circumventing them. The most carefully con-
ducted and systematic experiments on record are those
described by Dr. Von Baumhauer in the first of the works
mentioned below. It obviously does not come within the
scope, as it certainly is not allowed by the limits of a paper
of this character, to describe at length the experiments or the
mode of application of the latter. Those practically inter-
ested are referred to the three papers below, that by Dr. Von
Baumhauer, the very excellent one by Mr. Murphy, and that
by J. W. Putnam, which, though it contains some errors of
natural history, appears to be sound and complete from a
practical standpoint. All of these are easily accessible.

The Commission, of which Dr. Von Baumhauer was a
member, experimented with all means proposed to them by
inventors and others. Eight different methods of coating
wood were tried, including mineral paints, varnishes, poison-
ous substances, etc., but none of them proved of any value.
They tried six methods of impregnating wood with different
substances, including some of the very poisonous salts of
copper, iron and lead, only one of which proved efficient.
The successful one was oil of creosote — a coal-tar product.

This method proved successful when good oil was used,
and to-day it is acknowledged by engineers that the only
efficacious way to preserve timber permanently from the
attacks of the Teredo is to thoroughly impregnate it with
■creosote. The process must be thorough, for partially filled
timbers will be destroyed. The mechanics of the process of
impregnation are described in the paper by J. W. Putnam,
referred to below. It consists in forcing the oil under great
►pressure into the previously prepared wood. Woods of loose

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

113

texture are the best, for they take the oil better. Creosote
has the advantage also of preserving timbers not only from
Teredo , but from other destructive agencies, for it is a good
antiseptic.

This method has been tried and found good in our own
waters, as the following passage from Mr. Murphy’s paper
proves. Speaking of Sidney harbor, Cape Breton, he says:
•“Here the Teredo is seemingly as destructive, if not more so,
than at any point on our coast, and here, about ten years ago,
a coal-loading pier was erected, sufficiently large that three
ocean-going steamers could load coal at the same time. The
pier runs out into the harbor. It was erected entirely of pine
trunks, creosoted in Great Britain, and sent out here. It has
most effectively withstood the ravages of the Teredo, whilst
all other piles in the neighborhood had to be renewed twice.”
Mr. Murphy points out the desirability of the establishment
of a creosoting apparatus in Nova Scotia, and of a careful
study of means of overcoming the Limnoria lignorum .

There are other methods of protecting marine works from
Teredo which have their value. A timber completely sheathed
with metal is safe ; hence copper-bottomed ships are not
troubled. Docks and wharves have been sheathed with
different metals, but these are efficacious only so long as the
surface is unbroken. Accident, the action of the water on
the plates, etc.., will not, however, as a rule, long permit this.
A modification of this method consists in covering the timber
with short iron nails having square, flat heads. But these
must be placed close together, with their edges touching, and
this is very expensive. In the American Naturalist, Vol. XVI.
1882, p. .967, another method is described as follows: “His

machinery cuts out a cylinder two inches thick from between
the core and the outside of a log, and of any desired caliber.
By retaining the core and filling the cylindrical excavation
around it with a special cement, it is thought that the
ravages of the Teredo could be confined to the outer part
of a pile so treated, and the core, which is expected to sustain
the needed weight, would be protected by the cement, which
an its turn would be preserv-ed from friction by the outer

114 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

coating of wood and bark,” The writer’s friend, Mr. K..
Miyabe, of Japan, tells him that a countryman of his ha&
invented a method of preventing its ravages. It consists in a
process of lacquering. Coatings of barnacles, when numerous
and near enough together so that their bases touch, form a
protection, but one which it would be difficult to produce
artificially. Coatings of the common Mussel ( Mytilus edulis)'
have been suggested also; but much the same objection would
apply to them, and the coating would be liable to be removed
by accident. An annelid preys upon the Teredo , but not to
an extent sufficient to assist man. Fresh water is one of their
greatest enemies, and foul water another, A method of
ridding a ship of them which has been suggested is to take
her for some time into fresh water; but our ship owners would
not be long in seeing objections to this. There seems to be a
possibility, however, that under certain circumstances wharves
might be protected by being built where fresh water streams
empty, or even, in some cases, where foul water, such as comes
from chemical works and the like, could be directed against
them. The latter remedy, however, would be too likely to
become worse than the trouble.

As an offset to all the damage done by the Ship-worms
only a single benefit to man has been suggested. They
certainly help to remove old wrecks, both floating and sunken,
which would be a constant peril to navigation.

Works of Reference.

The Teredo and its Depredations. By Dr. E. H. Von Baum-
hauer [translated from Archives of Holland, Vol. I.]
Popular Science Monthly, Vol. XIII., 1878, pp. 400-410,
545-558. Its more important parts are quoted in the
following.

On the Ravages of the Teredo Navalis, and Limnoria Lignorum,.
on Piles and Submerged Timber in Nova Scotia, and the
Means being Adopted in other Countries to Prevent their
Attacks. By Martin Murphy. Proc. and Trans. Nova
Scotian Inst. Nat. Sci., Vol. V., Part IV., 1882, pp.
357-376.

THE ECONOMIC MOLLUSCA OF ACADIA.

115

The Preservation of Timber. By J. W. Putnam. Scientific
American Supplement, Yol. X., No. 236, July 10th, 1880,
3762-3763.

Teredo. By J. T. Cunningham. Encyclopaedia Britannica,
9th Ed., Vol. XXIII., 1888, pp, 184-186.

The Teredo or Ship-worm. By B. E. C. Stearns. American
Naturalist, Vol. XX., 1886, pp. 131-136.

28. Teredo Norvagica Spengler.

[Teredo, a borer ; Norvagica, inhabiting Norway.]

Ship-Worm.

Distribution. ( a ) General ; — Cape Cod northward

North European Seas.

(b) In Acadia ; — “ Marine slip timbers at Pictou.
(Whiteaves),” Jones. Further distribution not known. As
stated under T. navalis, much or most of the damage attributed
to that species may be due to this.

Habits. In general similar to Teredo navalis. It would be extremely
difficult for the untrained observer to distinguish them. Specimens
should be sent to some special student of Mollusca.

Economics. Similar to T. navalis.

29. Teredo dilatata Stimpson.

[Teredo, a borer ; dilatata, swollen.]

Distribution. (a) General ; — South Carolina to Cape
Ann. Sable Island.

(b) In Acadia ; — “ Very large specimens have been received
from Sable Island, taken from wrecked timbers (Willis),”
Jones.

[There is a possibility that this species may be the follow-
ing, but it is unlikely. It is a southern species, but many
such occur on Sable Island.]

Habits. In general similar to Xylophaga dorsalis. They probably
cannot be distinguished by the untrained observer. This is a small
8

116 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

species, and is nearly as broad as long. It is about half an inch in
diameter.

Economics, Probably similar to Xylophaga dorsalis.

30. Xylophaga dorsalis (Turton) Forbes and Hanley.

[Xylophaga, wood-eating ; dorsalis, from plates on its back.]

[The Teredo dilatata of Mr. Whiteaves’ first report, as he-
tells us in his second,]

Distribution, (a) General ; — Northern Atlantic ocean.

(b) In Acadia; — New Brunswick and Nova Scotia waters.

Mr. Whiteaves says in his first Report, — “ Principal
Dawson informs me that great damages have already been
done to the woodwork of wharves and harbors in Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick, by this species of Teredo.

Habits. Though in general structure, habits, etc., it is probably
quite like Teredo navalis, it differs much in appearance. It is from one-
inch to one and a half inches long and has the organs more concentrated
than in Teredo, forming a spherical mass from which a slender tube-
projects backward bearing the siphons. We find it showing characters
intermediate between the Teredos and the genus Pholas ; the latter are-
shelled bivalves which bore into stone. This species would hardly be
distinguished by the beginner from the last.

Economics, On account of its smaller size, and conse-
quently short burrows, it is not so destructive as the larger
Teredos, but it nevertheless does much damage both to floating
and fixed timber works in Europe.

Mr. Whiteaves says in his first Report, — “Mr. Nelson
Davis, of Montreal, tells me that the brigantine ‘ Magdala/
which was built at St. John, N. B., was completely riddled
by this ship-worm some time ago, on her first voyage from

St. John to Liverpool The whole of the ship’s

bottom had to be renewed and covered with copper sheeting
before she was again seaworthy.”

APPENDIX

THE REPORT OF THE COUNCIL.

The Council beg leave to submit the following summary
of the work for the year.

There have been added to the membership seven ordinary,
four corresponding and five associate members.

Nine regular meetings were held, at which the following
papers were read:

1888.

Feb.

Mar.

Mar.

April

May

May

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

7. Ecbinodermata of New Brunswick, by W. F. Ganong;, M. A.
6. The molluscs of the oyster beds of New Brunswick, by
Rev. H. W. Winkley.

6. Does our indigenous flora give evidence of a recent change
of climate, by Jas. Yroom.

3. The habits of Birds, by M. Chamberlain.

1. History of fossil plants, by Geo. F. Matthew, M. A.

16. Weeds, by Geo. U. Hay, Ph. B.

2. Meteorological instruments and their uses, by W. F. Best.
6. Earliest denizens of the land and air, by G. F. Matthew,

M. A

4. Zoological Notes, by W. F. Ganong, M. A.

6. Some characteristics of Molluscs, by Geo. F. Matthew, M. A.

The librarian in handing in her report of the library makes
special mention of an archaeological map of Abury, and a book
on the British and Roman Antiquities, of Wiltshire, England,
presented by the Right Rev. Bishop Kingdon, and to the
publications of the United States Geological Survey. Back
numbers of the American Journal of Science and of the
Geological Magazine have been purchased, and for the benefit
of those interested in Geology and Botany, current numbers
of the American Geologist and Botanical Gazette are received
by subscription. The books received for the past three years
have been numbered, catalogued and arranged. It is the
desire of the Council to obtain the scientific works of Sir J.

118

APPENDIX — REPORT OF THE COUNCIL.

W. Dawson, and any contributions to that end will be thank-
fully received.

The curators have much pleasure in reporting valuable
additions to the museum, as shown by the appended list of
donations, and recommend that the collections be open for
public inspection on every Tuesday evening and Saturday
afternoon.

The elementary lectures on Chemistry, Geology, Zoology
and Botany, referred to in the last Bulletin, were most
successfully continued during the present year.

The Society took advantage of the presence in the city of
Sir J. W. Dawson to tender him a reception. It was considered
fitting that some recognition of his visit should be made, as
it was at his suggestion that the Society was formed ; and alsa
to offer a tribute of respect to one who has attained so eminent
a position in the scientific world. Arrangements were accord-
ing made, and on July 19th the reception was held. The
Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Leonard Tilley, patron of tho
Society, presided, and in a short address introduced the guest
of the evening, who, in reply, spoke at considerable length,
reviewing the work done by the Society, as well as of its
present efforts, its aims and needs. The rooms were crowded
with visitors who were introduced to Sir William by the Presi-
dent, and a pleasant hour was spent in conversation and
examining the specimens in the museum.

The Seventh Annual Bulletiu was published and distribu-
ted as formerly. We are reminded to-night that at our last
Annual Meeting the late lamented President, Dr. Botsford,
was with us. Since then we have missed his kindly face and
wise counsels at our meetings; we have also in the Treasurer’s
account a substantial token of the regard in which he held
this Society.

In closing, the Council desire to express their hearty
thanks to all who have assisted in forwarding the work of the-
Society.

Respectfully submitted,

VY. J. WILSON,

Secretary to Council .

APPENDIX — BOTANICAL REPORT.

119

BOTANICAL REPORT.

Mr. Brittain, now of the Normal School, Fredericton, and
Mr. Philip Cox, of Newcastle, made a canoe trip down the
Restigouche in July, 1888. Mr. Brittain, a member of the
Botanical Committee, reports the following new or rare plants

from this interesting region,

Clematis verticillaris.

Anemone parviflora,

Astragalus oroboides.

Collomia linearis.

Galium boreale.

Carex concinna.

C. alpina.

Pyrola minor.

Arabis Drummondii.

A. petraea.

not before traversed by botanists::

Eleocharis pauciflora.

Salix longifolia.

Juncus alpinus, var. .

Selaginella selaginoides
Pinguicula vulgaris.

Aspidium fragrans,

Woodsia byperborea.

W. glabella.

Pbegopteris calcarea.

DONATIONS TO THE LIBRARY.

Date.

Donor’s Name and Title of Book.

1888.

Feb.

Apr.

Published — Journal of Comparative Medicine and Surgery,

Ottawa Naturalist’s Field Club. — January number, (April)
Yol. I., No. XII., (May) October 1887, and February
1888, (October) July and August 1888, (December)*
Yol. I., No 7.

Natural History Society, Montreal. — Canadian Record of
Science, Yol. III., Nos. 1, 3 and 4.

United States Geological Survey. — Mineral Resources of
United States, 1886, (October) Atlas of Geography of
Leadville.

Prof. J. Macoun. — Catalogue of Canadian Plants, Part III.
(October) Part IY.

Author. — Catalogue of Canadian Birds by M. Chamberlain.

E. Gilpin, Esq , C. E. — Quarterly Journal Geological Society
London, No. — , (October) No. 175.

120

APPENDIX — DONATIONS TO THE LIBRARY.

Donations to Library. — ( Continued .)

Date.

Donor's Name and Title of Book.

1888.

Apr.

May .
Oct.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

1889.
. Jan.

Nova Scotia Institute of Natural Science. — Vol. VII.,
Part I.

Author. — Systematic table of Canadian birds, by M.
Chamberlain.

SantaBarbara Society of Natural History.— Bulletin No.I.
J. Hoyes Panton. — Caves and potholes at Rockwood, Ont.
Director Geological and Natural History Survey of
Canada. — Annual Report, New Series, Vol. II.
Smithsonian Institution. — Report 1885, Part II.

U. S. Commissioner of Agriculture. — Report.

Director National Museum, Brazil. —Archives, Vols. VI.
and VII

Belfast Naturalist’s Field Club. — Annual Report.
Colorado Scientific Society. — Proceedings, Vol. II., Partin.
Geographical Society, Leipzic. — Proceedings, 1887.

New York Microscopical Society. —Journal, Vol. IV., No.
3, (December) No. 4.

Geological Society, London, — Abstract of Proceedings, Nos.
510-526.

Author. — How to study Botany by Dr. T. J. Burgess.

Costa Rica National Museum. — Annals, 1887.

Natural History Society, Glasgow. — Proceedings.

Right Rev. Bishop Kingdon. — Archseological Map of Abury,
Eng., British and Roman Antiquities of Wiltshire.

Societe Roy ale Malacologiqtje de Belgique. — Proceedings.
Academy Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. — Part II. (1888).
G. F. Matthew. — Archaia, by Sir J. W. Dawson.

American Museum of Natural History. — Annual Report,
1887-8.

APPENDIX. — DONATIONS TO THE MUSEUM.

121

DONATIONS TO THE MUSEUM.

Date.

Donor’s Name and Article Presented.

1888.

Feb.

Miss Williams. — Cannon ball, Oromocto River.

Mr, Anderson. — Minerals from Lake Superior.

B. E. Paterson. — Fossils of Guelph Formation, 12 species,
miscellaneous fossils, 30 species.

April M. Chamberlain. — One pair school globes.

May Mrs. M. M. Carr. — Glass sponge (Fuplectella), from the China
sea.

Miss S. Jardine. — Botanical press.

Geoffrey Stead. — Ripple-marked slab from St. John group,
heads of trilobites (Paradoxides pontificalis and suricoides) ; .
shells (Mollusca) from oyster-beds and from St. John
River.

Oct.

Dec.

1889.

Jan%

W. J. Wilson. — Introduced weed (Achillcea ptarmica).
Geoffrey Stead. — Fossil shells and snails, 8 species.

W. F. Best. — Manganese from Teny Cape, N. S.

Howard Me Adam. — Stone Arrow-head, Simpson’s Island,
N. B.

Robert R. Barnes. — Spider (Tarantula), from Mexico, Horned
Toad from California.

Rev. H. W. Winkley. — Mollusca, coast of Maine, 20 species.

Fossil shells of Leda Clay, Maine, 10 species.

W. F. Ganong — Sponge, 1 species; Radiates, 8 species;
Molluscoids, 1 species; Molluscs, 63 species; Worms, 1
species. Collected on coasts of New Brunswick.

122

APPENDIX — OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES.

Officers of the Society for 1889.

Patron — His Honor Sir Leonard Tilley.

President — G. F. Matthew, M.A. , F.R.S.C.

Vice-Presidents — Edwin Fisher, G. U. Hay, Ph. D.

Treasurer — Alfred Seely.

Corresponding Secretary — G. Ernest Fairweather.

Recording Secretary — W. J. Wilson.

Librarian — Miss M. E. Knowlton.

Curators — W. F. Best, R. P. Starr, S. W. Kain.

Members of Council — Jas. A. Estey, W. S. Harding, M. D., John
Montgomery.

Standing Committees for 1889.

Physics and Chemistry — W. F. Best, G. U Hay.

Meteorology — W. F. Best, G. Murdoch.

■Geology — G. F. Matthew, L. W. Bailey, Ph.D., W. J. Wilson.

Botany — G. U. Hay, J. Brittain, J. Yroom.

Entomology — J. Brittain, Mrs. C. E. Heustis.

Invertebrates — W. F. Ganong, M.A., S. W. Kain, Geoffrey Stead.
Fishes and Reptiles— P . Campbell, S. W. Kain, W. S. Harding, M. D.
Ornithology— F. W. Daniel, A. Morrisey, Philip Cox.

Library — Miss A. P. Fitch, G. E. Fairweather, Thos. Stothart, Miss
Knowlton, G. F. Matthew, G. U, Hay.

Essays and Lectures — G. F. Matthew, G. U. Hay, Jas. A. Estey,
E. Fisher, J, Montgomery, W. J. Wilson.

Rublications — G. F. Matthew, G. U. Hay, A. Seely, W F. Best,
G. E. Fairweather.

Hall — G. E. Fairweather, W. J. Wilson, G. F. Matthew,

Finance — A. Seely, Edwin Fisher, W. J. Wilson.

Press— G. U. Hay, G. E. Fairweather, G. F, Matthew.

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