Part 25

The condition of the clam industry at Kingston is in many respects parallel to that at Duxbury. The clam flat area (some 600 acres) is very much smaller, but the character of the soil is essentially the same, consisting for the most part of clay, soft mud and eel-grass marshes, with a relatively small proportion of really suitable ground.

The two main flats of the town are Egobert's and Gray's. Egobert's, the larger of the two, has an area of about 275 acres. Most of this is practically waste, owing to a thick growth of eel grass; but a triangular piece on the mid-southern section is bare. This portion of smooth, unshifting sand comprises about 80 acres. A few patches of clams are scattered along the outer edge, near the channel, but hardly any of these patches produce clams enough to make it profitable to dig them. The great bulk of this territory is entirely barren.

Gray's flat is of an entirely different type. It is a long flat, with a fairly uniform width of about 100 yards. It runs through its entire length parallel to the shore, while on the other side it is separated from Egobert's by a 300-foot channel. Like Egobert's, it is covered for the most part by eel grass, but it is essentially different in the nature of its soil, which is mud throughout. Although the total area of the flat is about 115 acres, an irregular section of bare mud on the southeastern side, comprising 30 acres, is the only available clam territory. This section is composed of soft mud on the north and south, rather poorly suited for clam culture; but the mid section contains several acres of hard mud, which seems well adapted, and here clams are found in sufficient quantities to keep several men digging intermittently through the summer months.

Along the shore a few clam grants have been given to individuals by the local authorities. These are managed with fair success, though no business other than that of supplying the local demand is carried on. The possibilities of forming a clam industry here of importance is evident, though through lack of available territory it could never give promise of such a development as might be looked for from Duxbury or Plymouth.

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Number of men, 4 Capital invested, $50 Production, 1907:-- Bushels, 500 Value, $450 Total area (acres):-- Sand, 150 Mud, - Gravel, - Mussels and eel grass, 450 Total, 600 Productive area (acres):-- Good clamming, 5 Scattering clams, 5 Barren area possibly productive (acres), 150 Waste barren area (acres), 440 Possible normal production, $18,000

_Plymouth._

The clam industry at Plymouth is at a low ebb. The same problems which baffle progress at Duxbury and Kingston are present here with all their complications. The combined available territory, exceeding 1,600 acres, save for a few unimportant sections, is wholly barren. While it is true that fully two-thirds of this great area is eel-grass waste, and in its present state of little value for the production of clams, there remains over 500 acres of good flats, for the most part sand well adapted for shellfish culture. It is certain that a flourishing industry has existed here in former times. From the earliest history of the colony, records tell of the excellent clam flats at Plymouth; and we learn that the Pilgrims during the darkest hours of the early settlement depended in large measure upon these flats for support. As late as 1879 Ernest Ingersoll reports an annual output of 5,000 bushels of clams, and states that the industry had then greatly declined. It appears to have gone down steadily ever since, until now it merely furnishes transient employment to 4 or 5 men, who dig at rather uncertain intervals for local markets.

The best clamming, probably because the most inaccessible, is around Clark's Island. Scattering clams occur on Wind flat, the Oyster grant, and in patches along the shore. But no considerable extent of good clamming occurs anywhere, and the bulk of the territory is wholly barren.

The town of Plymouth has endeavored in several ways to develop the industry. It has appropriated money to restock the flats, a close season has been tried, and an attempt made to solve the problem by the giving of private grants. While these grants have not always been run in as energetic a manner as could be desired, the experiment has proved conclusively that there are great possibilities in such a system. In short, there can be little doubt that in the proper administration of private grants lies the key to the solution of the problem which confronts this whole region. As clams were once abundant in Plymouth harbor, and as no apparent causes other than excessive digging appear to have brought about the decline, there seems to be no logical reason why this amount of territory (500 acres) should not yield its proper harvest. As for the vast extent of eel-grass flats, with all their undetermined possibilities, they can well afford to wait until the more immediate and pressing problems of the flats already available for clam culture have been solved.

COMPARISON OF 1907 WITH 1879.

======+============+========= YEAR. | Production | Value. | (Bushels). | ------+------------+--------- 1879, | 5,000 | $2,500 1907, | 3,000 | 2,500 ======+============+=========

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Number of men, 6 Capital invested, $60 Value of shore property, - Production, 1907:-- Bushels, 3,000 Value, $2,500 Total area (acres):-- Sand, 400 Mud, 100 Gravel, - Mussels and eel grass, 1,100 Total, 1,600 Productive area (acres):-- Good clamming, 10 Scattering clams, 50 Barren area possibly productive (acres), 440 Waste barren area (acres), 1,100 Possible normal production, $58,000

_Barnstable._

The clam industry at Barnstable, while not so extensive as at Ipswich or Essex, is nevertheless of special interest. The immensely long coast line, stretching for many miles on both the north and south shores of Cape Cod, gives the town a shellfish area both in Cape Cod Bay and Vineyard Sound which renders it unrivalled throughout the State for variety of marine life and diversity of natural environment. These conditions, as they affect clam culture, are best suited on the northern or bay side of the town, where the clam industry flourishes more extensively, as the southern shore is almost wholly given up to the rival quahaug, oyster and scallop fisheries.

On the northern shore a large harbor, nearly 5 miles long and about 2 miles broad at its widest part, extends in a general westerly direction, ending in a vast waste of salt marshes interwoven with a network of creeks. Up this harbor the tides rush with great velocity, and when they sweep out to sea leave a broad expanse of flats, sandy on the north and central portions and muddy on the south. These flats cover an aggregate area of 400 acres, comprising 200 acres of hard sand and 150 acres of soft mud. Large stretches of these mud flats on the south are waste, and covered for the most part with eel grass. Other sections elsewhere are likewise waste for various causes, and are to be excluded as unprofitable or barren; yet the total available area remaining after making these deductions exceeds 350 acres. This is the theoretical condition,--the real condition is far otherwise: 20 acres at the most yield clams, and of these only 10 acres produce them in marketable quantities.

The explanation of these conditions is interesting. In the winter the ice and the force of storms tear out great pieces of the tough marsh surf, and the tides sweep them down the harbor. Some of these huge masses are torn to pieces and washed away, others find lodgment on the broad surface of some tidal flat; these, becoming stationary, accumulate sediment; the grass grows upon them through the summer, and gradually a little island is formed. Surrounding these islands and oftentimes growing over their entire surface, bedded in among the roots of the marsh grass, we find a very thick set of clams. In short, all the digging of any kind is in the immediate vicinity of these islands.

The deductions to be made from these facts are apparently simple. In the spawning season, when the microscopic clam larvæ are in their floating stage, they are carried here and there by the currents. Later, when they tend normally to settle in some fertile tract of flat, they are prevented from so doing by reason of the remarkable swiftness of the tides, which sweep strongly over the broad, smooth flats, and give the little clams no opportunity of lodgment. Only in the firm thatch of low-lying islands can they find anything to cling to, and here, with their slender byssus threads attached to unyielding grass or roots, they are able to withstand the wash of the current. Thus the clams are gathered in great numbers in these natural collectors, later are washed on the neighboring flat, and finally a little colony grows up about every island of this sort.

That this is actually what happens is largely borne out both by observation and facts. It makes little difference where these islands are located; clams grow nearby, while all about may stretch smooth, hard flats, perfectly adapted for clams, yet altogether barren. In view of the somewhat incomplete investigations made in this region, it is perhaps too sweeping to point out any single factor as the sole cause for these waste areas; but undoubtedly the swift tides and smooth, hard flats, which offer no resting place for the young larvæ, constitute the main causes.

Another odd circumstance in connection with the Barnstable clam industry is the local regulations which control the industry. Almost all digging is carried on in the winter, as a local by-law forbids the digging of clams in summer in any quantity exceeding 6 bushels per week for family use. This somewhat curious by-law is designed wholly for the benefit of the majority of the clammers, and to give them employment in that season of the year when work is most difficult to obtain. While interfering somewhat with summer clam bakes, the law appears to meet the approval of the townspeople.

The south shore of Barnstable possesses many of the features of Buzzards Bay, and produces clams only in numbers sufficient for home consumption.

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Number of men, 25 Capital invested, $200 Value of shore property, - Production, 1907:-- Bushels, 700 Value, $550 Total area (acres):-- Sand, 200 Mud, 150 Gravel, - Mussels and eel grass, 50 Total, 400 Productive area (acres):-- Good clamming, 10 Scattering clams, 10 Barren area possibly productive (acres), 330 Waste barren area (acres), 50 Possible normal production, $39,000

_Yarmouth._

The clam industry at Yarmouth, never extensive, has steadily declined, until now it barely supplies the demands of home consumption. Barnstable bar on the northern coast twenty years ago produced clams in considerable quantities, but the soil was never well adapted for this shellfish. Scattering clams are now found there, but the grounds are very much exposed, and cannot properly rank as clam-producing area. Sea clams abound there at certain seasons, and furnish a transient business; also razor clams, which are used extensively for bait.

The best clam territory is in Mill Creek, on the south shore of the town. Scattered patches of clams also occur along the shore of Bass River, but the whole area really available does not exceed 50 acres, and this is not at all well improved. There are no regular clammers, but intermittent digging produces about 600 bushels of clams annually, which are used either for home consumption or for bait.

No effort has been made on the part of the town authorities to better conditions, although the advisability of giving clam grants, at least on the northern or bay side, has been discussed. No permits are required, and local legislation does not in any way concern itself with the clam industry.

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Number of men, 5 Capital invested, $40 Value of shore property, - Production, 1907:-- Bushels, 600 Value, $500 Total area (acres):-- Sand, 25 Mud, 15 Gravel, 10 Mussels and eel grass, - Total, 50 Productive area (acres):-- Good clamming, 5 Scattering clams, 10 Barren area possibly productive (acres), 25 Waste barren area (acres), 10 Possible normal production, $6,000

_Orleans._

Orleans is one of the few towns in the State which shows an advance in the clam industry. This is largely due to an increased production on the rich flats of Nauset harbor, as the remaining available territory in the town is declining in value. The output of 1907 is an increase of nearly 40 per cent. over the yield of the previous year, which shows an encouraging development.

The clam flat area of the town is divided into four rather distinct divisions, three on the east or Atlantic side and one on the Bay or western side. The grounds which have been dug for the longest time and yielded uniformly the best results lie in the waters of Town Cove. Here a strip of gravelly sand and mud about 30 feet wide extends along the shores of this cove for 2 or 3 miles. Clams are scattered throughout this strip, and are dug constantly.

The second division includes the bars of Nauset harbor, which at present furnish the best digging in town. The increased value of the town's industry is largely due to the recent development of these flats. Clams have seeded in abundantly during the past two or three years, and now furnish very good digging.

The third section comprises that portion of the clam flat area bordering the coast of Pleasant Bay which crosses the town boundaries on the southeast. Here clams are rather scarce, though dug occasionally. This section is economically the least important of the four.

The fourth section extends along the western coast, on a belt of sand bars well out in Cape Cod Bay. Clams are found on a strip about a quarter of a mile in width, and lying over half a mile from shore. This is a very exposed location. Billingsgate Point, projecting out from the Wellfleet coast, offers some protection from northwest winds, and the hills of the Cape break the force of the easterly gales; but the full force of storms from the west and southwest sweeps these bars, and would seem to render them unsuitable for the growth of clams. Clams are here, however, in considerable numbers, though not so numerous as three or four years ago, and are dug to some extent.

The greater part of the digging is done by intermittent clammers, who obtain perhaps 2½ bushels per day. No permits are required, as there are no town by-laws regulating the industry.

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Number of men, 30 Capital invested, $200 Value of shore property, - Production, 1907:-- Bushels, 3,000 Value, $3,000 Total area (acres):-- Sand, 125 Mud, 50 Gravel, 20 Mussels and eel grass, 5 Total, 200 Productive area (acres):-- Good clamming, 25 Scattering clams, 50 Barren area possibly productive (acres), 75 Waste barren area (acres), 50 Possible normal production, $27,000

_Eastham._

The town of Eastham is a sparsely settled community, and the clam fishery, while not large, plays a rather important part in its business activity. Six men depend quite largely upon it for a livelihood, while some 30 others dig intermittently through the summer. The same peculiar condition as at Orleans exists on the western coast. Here far from shore clams are found in considerable numbers on the shifting bars. The main source of supply, however, comes from the productive sand flats of Nauset harbor.

These flats have seeded in only in the past two or three years, but they have already shown latent possibilities of a future increase. In the so-called "Salt Pond" 2 men are employed nearly the year round in digging clams under water by a method of "churning," locally known as "rootling."

The total available area in Eastham is about 200 acres. More than half of this is sand, which includes almost all the good digging, while the mud flats are interspersed with stretches of gravel and scattering patches of eel grass.

The same abuses which have nearly ruined the Swansea fishery have begun here. Small seed clams are exported in considerable quantities to supply the summer demand of the New Bedford and Fall River districts. While this system has not yet made its ravages apparent, a glance at the Swansea report will serve to convince the most casual reader that unless some steps are taken to check this evil, the practical annihilation of the Eastham clam industry must follow. As it is, local legislation seems powerless to cope with the problem, and no laws of any kind relating to the clam fishery are in force.

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Number of men, 36 Capital invested, $250 Value of shore property, -- Production, 1907:-- Bushels, 4,000 Value, $4,000 Total area (acres):-- Sand, 100 Mud, 50 Gravel, 30 Mussels and eel grass, 20 Total, 200 Productive area (acres):-- Good clamming, 25 Scattering clams, 50 Barren area possibly productive (acres), 100 Waste barren area (acres), 25 Possible normal production, $30,000

_Wellfleet._

Although possessing extensive flats, Wellfleet produces at present a relatively small amount of clams. The inhabitants realize that these flats are capable of producing a large harvest of clams if properly planted, and that in this way an extensive industry can be developed, and have undertaken to restock the flats, appropriating in 1906 for this purpose the sum of $1,000.

At Billingsgate Island there are fair clam flats, but they are not easily accessible, as they lie at a distance of 5 miles from town. Clams can also be obtained in more or less abundance in the thatch which borders the flats of Blackfish Creek, Herring River and Duck Creek. A few clams are scattered over the flats of Blackfish Creek, particularly toward the head of the creek. Two patches of clams covering perhaps an acre are on the flats in front of the town: one in the stone and gravel east of Commercial wharf; the other, a more extensive area, just west of Mercantile wharf.

Wellfleet possesses many acres of flats which, though now barren, are capable of excellent production if properly planted. Wellfleet flats extend from Duck Creek to Herring River and from Herring River along the shores of Great Island for a distance of 4½ miles, and cover an area of 400 acres. The Great Island flats are not especially adapted for clams, and only parts of these can ever be successfully cultivated, while possibly all the area between Duck Creek and Herring River can be reclaimed. South Wellfleet flats, which comprise an area of 200 acres, are much poorer flats, consisting for the most part of mud and shifting sand. Only the firmer portions, about 50 acres, can be made productive by planting with clams.

At Wellfleet the soft clam fishery can hardly be styled an industry. In the winter a few men go clamming when there is nothing else to do. The majority prefer razor clamming, which is a considerable winter industry, owing to the demand for this bait at Provincetown. Three men clam during the summer, doing practically all their digging at Billingsgate, while 8 others are in this work during the winter.

The flats of Wellfleet were never very productive, but formerly were capable of furnishing a far greater production than at present. This decline is only accounted for by overdigging, which has brought about the present scarcity.

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Number of men, 11 Capital invested, $300 Production, 1907:-- Bushels, 800 Value, $640 Total area (acres):-- Sand, 450 Mud, 5 Gravel, 150 Mussels and eel grass, -- Total, 605 Productive area (acres):-- Good clamming, 3 Scattering clams, 12 Barren area possibly productive (acres), 250 Waste barren area (acres), 340 Possible normal production, $28,000

_Truro._