Conch Shell Horn Called
Slaves, Dogs in Bygone Days
Sea shells, one-time homes of
creatures of the sea, have been put
to varied uses by man. Today they
are popular as ornaments for mi
lady, such as earrings, pins, and
bracelets; they have been fashion
ed into lamps, pin cushions, and
are continually used as ash trays.
Fishermen since the long ago have
found that certain types of conch
shells make good horns.
W. A. Ellison, jr., director of the
Institute of Fisheries Research,
Morehead Cityk has in his posses
sion such a shell which has been
in bis family well over 150 years.
He's shown in the accompanying
picture blowing it.
Used as Slave Horn
This shell belonged to Mr. Elli
son's great great grandfather who
lived on the Roanoke river in Mar
tin county. There it was used as a
"slave horn." When the bell was
rung at the house to call the slaves,
it could not be heard in the fields
farthest away. So the overseer in
the "middle field," who had the
shell slung over his shoulder by
means of a rope, would blow it to
call the slaves "over yonder."
Since those days the shell has
been handed down in the family,
used as a door stop and, in gen
eral. knocked around, but it's in
tact, except for one small bole and
chipped off points. It's worn
smooth on the under side and has
a feeling of creamy ivory.
Dogs Harkened to It
In Mr. Ellison's possum hunting
days he used the horn to call his
dogs. Today he can blow a healthy
blast on the thing that would
startle a bridge tender a ball mile
away into opening the draw in jig
time.
Mr. Ellison believes that - the
shell, common in Florida and the
Bahamas, was probably picked up
by his great great grandfather's
schooner which would sail to the
Caribbean to bring back sugar and
broadcloth from the West Indies.
To make a horn out of this "pink
conch," the spire, or end of it is
knocked off. That hole then be
comes the mouth piece and the
sound comes out over the lip of the
shell. The rope in Mr. Ellison's
slave horn is about two and a half
feet long and is fastened through
two holes drilled in the lip.
It may not be as valuable as a
jeweled heirloom but it would take
mofe than money to make its pres
ent owner part with it.
Receipts from licensing of men
haden boats and gear last year a
moanted to $27,909.50 in this state.
Giving forth with a blast on the
conch shell.
I
E. P. McFee Visits
Menhaden Plants
In Coastal Area
E. P. McFee, director of re
search, Gorton Pew Fisheries,
Gloucester, Mass., was a recent vis
itor to menhaden plants in this
area and at South port. McFee is
one of the leading specialists on
fisheries by-products in the United
States.
He was greatly impressed with
the stickwater installations at
Sperti Foods incorporated at Len
noxville. Scientists say that if the
valuable by-products can be recov
ered from the waste now thrown
away after the cooking of menhad
en, an entire new field will open
to the fishing industry.
At present the animal protein
factor, commonly called AP fac
tor, added to soybean meal makes
soybean meal as valuable for ani
mal feed as fishmeal and at lower
C06t. This constitutes one of the
greatest threats to the fishmeal in
dustry today.
The AP factor can be obtained
synthetically or as a by-product in
the manufacture of oreomycin, and
in by-products of brewing opera
tions.
Use of stickwater plants would
also prevent what some states have
already defined as pollution when
the by-products of menhaden cook
ing are dumped back in the water.
CHARTER FISHING BOATS
pi-am a DEEP SEA
FBffiXG PUTT NOW!
CMRBCT
mft. oms ramroT
IT
OTTBTS SEAFOOD MABKET
MOREHEAD CITY, N. C.
Nica Roomy ? Seaworthy ? Boats
Ship To Shore Telephone
(W Ok Dow. ? Tb FiAkf b Good
Clans Serve
As Fisherman's
Staple Product
New Dredge Method Makes
Large Catches of This
Type Shellfish Possible
By Dr. A. F. Chestnut
Clams have provided a source of
income to Carteret county fisher
men for many years. At the turn
of the century a clam factory was
established at Ocracoke by Mr. J.
H. Doxsee, sr., who came from Long
Island about 1898.
According to federal statistics,
close to 1,200,000 pounds of clam
meats were marketed in 1902 from
North Carolina, with the bulk pre
sumably handled by the Doxsee
company. A few years later the
plant moved to Sea Level and short
ly after moved to Marco, Florida.
From 1908 production of clams
averaged about 300,000 pounds a
year with some years, as in 1930,
as high as 839,000 pounds.
1M1 High
In 1941 the highest production
yet recorded was 1,302,000 pounds.
In 1948 this dropped to 207,009
pounds Unfortunately, statistics
are based on tax receipts or rough
estimates, so complete production
is not known. However, certain
trends are defined and, in general,
clam production in North Carolina
appears to be dependent upon an
available market rather than a sup
ply of clams.
Many of the fishermen have come
to regard the clam as a staple pro
duct: a backlog against hard times.
The clams have apparently always
been present in abundance. When
shrimping, fishing or crabbing sea
sons were poor or unprofitable,
clamming would at least provide
some income although it meant
hard work.
New Dredging Method
Early this spring a new dredging
method was perfected which made
possible large catches of clams.
There was a ready market for
clams since shortages have been
evident in the north and the clam
industry had prospects of rapid
growth. A single boat could dredge
as much as 9,000 pounds (approxi
mately 90 pounds of clams in the
shell per bushel) with regular
catches of from 3,000 to 5,000
pounds per day.
For comparison, a clammer work
ing with a rake has a good day it
be can catch as high as 500 pounds
of clams. With prices at one and
om- half to one and three-quarters
of a cent per pound the clammer
can gross a sizeable income. The
wear and tear on the gear and en
gine as well at gasoline wiping*
tion, aa high as 40 gallons par day,
however, eata away at the profits.
The drain of '
Sound this
who claimed the beds were already
depleted.
A survey was undertaken in June
by the Institute of Fisheries Re
search and at least 60 areas were
spot-checked by dredging with a
commercial boat. In general it ap
pears that clams are still abundant
in commercial quantities, even in
areas that were heavily dredged.
Looking ahead to the future and
for the beat interests of the fisher
men and the industry, now is the
time to consider the wisest plans
to be followed before another val
uable resource is depleted.
At present there is little infor
mation available on clams, for few
studies have been made. The next
few years should bring forth much
information for federal and State
laboratories from Maine to South
Carolina are busy investigating
clams.
Four kinds of clams are harvest
ed along the Atlantic coast, only
one of which is of commercial im
portance to North Carolina. This
is known by various names ? the
hard or round clam, quahog, cher
rystone and littleneck. The names
cherrystone and littleneck desig
nate commercial grades or sizes.
Commercially the clams are graded
and sold according to size.
Littlenecks average about 600
clams per bushel and sell for $7
to $8 per bushel; cherrystones av
erage about 400 clan and ael) for
$5.50 to $6. An intermediate grade
or mediums, about 250 clams per
bushel, is sometime* offered on the *
market. ^Chowder clams are the
largest size, averaging from 150 to
175 clams per bushel, and sell for
$3 to $4 per bushel. The prices
quoted here are from the New York
market reports for the last week
in October.
None of the three clams briefly
mentioned below has been found,
thus far, in commercial quantities
in North Carolina. The ocean qua- ?
hog, or mahogany clam, is found
in the open ocean at depths of from
60 to 150 feet and caught chiefly
from Massachusetts to Long Island
Sound.
The surf, or skimmer, clam is
gathered along the ocean beaches
by special dredges with hydraulic
attachments to wash the clams out
of the sand. i
Soft clams, often called manni
noses. are gathered from tidal flats
from Maine to Maryland by dig
ging, for the clams are buried from
one to two feet below the surface.
The bulk of the clams sold along
the Atlantic coast go to shucking
houses or canneries where the
clams are processed for chowder,
and the price received for the
See CLAMS SERVE, Page ?
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