(4) Shell roads are occasionally made from quahaug shells. Possibly lime could be profitably obtained. _History of Quahaug Industry in Massachusetts._ South of Plymouth harbor quahaugs have always been plentiful along the shores of Cape Cod, Buzzards Bay and the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Frequent shell heaps show that the Indians were accustomed to use this mollusk as a food, and even indulged in an occasional clam bake. Colonial records show us that the early colonists were not slow in learning to "tread out" this mollusk from the mud flats. The shells of the quahaug were much prized by the Indians for wampum beads, because of their purplish color. Although reckoned inferior by many to the soft clam (_Mya arenaria_), the quahaug was dug for home consumption for years in Massachusetts, and but little attempt was made to put it on the market. The commercial quahaug fishery started on Cape Cod, about the first of the nineteenth century, growing in extent until about 1860. From 1860 to 1890 the production remained about constant. The production in 1879 for Massachusetts, as given by A. Howard Clark, totaled 11,050 bushels, valued at $5,525. It is only in the last fifteen to twenty years that the actual development of the quahaug fishery has taken place. The present production of Massachusetts is 144,044 bushels, valued at $194,687. To the popular demand for the "little neck" can be attributed the rapid development of the quahaug industry during the last ten years. This development has furnished employment for hundreds of men, and has given the quahaug an important value as a sea food. What it will lead to is easily seen. The maximum production was passed a few years ago, constant overfishing caused by an excessive demand is destroying the natural supply, and there will in a few years be practically no commercial fishery, unless measures are taken to increase the natural supply. Quahaug farming offers the best solution at the present time, and gives promise of permanent success. The following statistics, taken from the United States Fish Commission reports, show the rapidity of the development of the quahaug fishery:-- =============+============+===========+================ DATE. | Bushels. | Value. | Price (Cents). -------------+------------+-----------+---------------- 1879, | 11,050 | $5,525 | 50.0 1887, | 35,540 | 21,363 | 60.0 1888, | 26,165 | 14,822 | 56.5 1898, | 63,817 | 50,724 | 79.5 1902, | 106,818 | 131,139 | 124.0 1905, | 166,526 | 288,987 | 155.0 =============+============+===========+================