The Boy With the U. S. Fisheries

by Francis Rolt-Wheeler

Clammer Raking for Quahaugs in New Bedford Harbor.

Courtesy of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries.

Oysterman Tonging for Oysters in Buzzard's Bay.

Courtesy of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries.

On the way back to Woods Hole, going down the harbor, Colin questioned the captain of the M. B. L. boat, the Cayadetta,—which happened to have been at New Bedford that afternoon, and on which he had been given the courtesy of a passage—why there seemed to be two different kinds of boats scattered over the harbor oystering.

"That feller's not oysterin'," the captain answered; "he's rakin' quahogs."

"Quahogs?"

"That's clams," was the explanation; "the right name for what the people down in New York call a 'little-neck clam.' The 'neck' is a foot, and it's little because the quahog doesn't burrow deep. The long or soft clam does."