Book I Find the Following Allusion to It: "the Poquau (_venus

mercenaria_) is found in Old Town Harbor, at Cape Poge, and in Menemsha Pond: great quantities are exported."

A. Howard Clark in 1879 says:--

Soft clams and quahaugs are abundant in the harbor, and are used by the fishermen for bait.... Three hundred bushels of quahaugs and sea clams, valued at $150, were taken during the year 1879.

If such were the conditions in 1879, the industry has had a great development. To-day Edgartown is one of the best quahaug towns of the State, and produces the finest "little necks." Comparing the production figures of 1879 and 1907, a great increase is noted:--

Production, 1879.

Bushels, 300 Value, $150

Production, 1907.

Bushels, 20,000 Value, $32,000

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Area of quahaug territory (acres), 1,800 Number of men, 70 Number of boats, 42 Value of boats, $10,500 Number of dories, 18 Value of dories, $450 Value of implements, $1,050

Production.

"Little necks":-- Bushels, 8,000 Value, $20,000 Quahaugs:-- Bushels, 12,000 Value, $12,000 Total:-- Bushels, 20,000 Value, $32,000

Fairhaven.

At Fairhaven the quahaug industry is of considerable importance, and the output from this town alone is nearly half the entire production of Buzzards Bay.

Some 3,000 acres are more or less bedded with quahaugs. Of this, probably not more than one-tenth is very productive. The best quahauging is in Acushnet River, where digging for market has been forbidden because of sewage pollution (see New Bedford), and in Priests Cove as far as Sconticut Neck. In these grounds "little necks" are numerous. The grounds around West Island and Long Island, once very productive, are now largely dug out. Little Bay and the east coast of Sconticut Neck are fairly productive, while the west coast yields only a small amount. Most of the quahaugs now dug come from the deep water west-southwest of Sconticut Neck. Here, with rakes having handles from 40 to 60 feet long, the quahaugers dig in water 7 fathoms or more in depth. The quahaugs, mostly large sharps, are in bluish mud or sticky bottom, and are all large. A number of blunts are found with these large sharps. In the Acushnet River, owing to the enforced closed season, there are a large number of "little necks."

About 115 men are employed now in quahauging. Before the Acushnet River was closed by law, over twice that number are reported to have been engaged in the business. Six power boats and five cat boats, besides a considerable number of skiffs and dories, are used in the fishery.

No permits are required for ordinary quahauging except in the prescribed territory of Acushnet River, where permits to catch a certain amount for bait are given as in New Bedford.

The production for 1879, as given by A. Howard Clark in "The Fisheries of Massachusetts," was 3,000 bushels, which is just one-fifth of the present production. The supply of quahaugs has decreased the last few years, though new territory is constantly being opened up, as the quahaugers go out further into the deeper water. The increased price, however, probably more than counterbalances the decline in production.

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Area of quahaug territory (acres), 3,000 Number of men, 115 Number of boats, 11 Value of boats, $2,600 Number of skiffs, 100 Value of skiffs, $1,500 Value of implements, $900

Production.

"Little necks":-- Bushels, 1,000 Value, $2,500 Quahaugs:-- Bushels, 14,000 Value, $14,000 Total:-- Bushels, 15,000 Value, $16,500

Falmouth.

There is practically no quahaug industry in Falmouth. Hardly 100 bushels are dug annually, and those only for home consumption. A few quahaugs are perhaps shipped by the oystermen.

This town, with its numerous inlets, bays and brackish water ponds, offers perhaps as fine an opportunity for shellfish culture, especially for quahaugs, as exists in Massachusetts. There is no reason why the water of Waquoit Bay and the other brackish ponds should not produce a great supply of quahaugs, if properly worked.

Quahaugs are found mostly in scattering quantities over a large area in Waquoit Bay and in small quantities on the north and west side of Great Pond, comprising a total of nearly 400 acres. Not all this ground, which is the greater part mud, is capable of producing quahaugs, but many parts could produce good harvests. On the bay side of the town small patches of good quahaugs are found at North Falmouth, Squeteague Pond, West Falmouth harbor on the southeast side, and a few are found in Hadley harbor, Naushon. These, together with the small patches in Great Pond, comprise about 1 acre of good quahaug ground, and are mostly dug by summer people.

In the past twenty-five years there has been a great decline in the quahaug industry, especially in Waquoit Bay, which to-day barely produces 50 bushels. A. Howard Clark states, in 1879:--

Quahaugs are plenty in Waquoit Bay, and are gathered and eaten by the villagers, but none are shipped. It is estimated that about 500 bushels of quahaugs are annually consumed by the people of Falmouth town.

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Area of quahaug territory (acres), 400 Number of men, -- Number of boats, -- Value of boats, -- Number of dories, -- Value of dories, -- Value of implements, --

Production.

"Little necks":-- Bushels, 10 Value, $25 Quahaugs:-- Bushels, 90 Value, $90 Total:-- Bushels, 100 Value, $115

Harwich.

The quahaug fishery of the town of Harwich is carried on in that part of Pleasant Bay which lies within the town limits. In the southern waters of the town, on the Sound side, scattering quahaugs are found in certain localities, but are not of any commercial importance. The most important of those localities are off Dean's Creek and in Herring River, where quahaugs are dug for home consumption.

Harwich shares with Chatham and Orleans the quahaug fishery of Pleasant Bay, but has a more limited territory, as only a small portion of Pleasant Bay lies within the town limits. Practically all this territory, comprising 100 acres, is quahauging ground, though the commercial quahauging is prosecuted over an area of 10 acres only. Scattering quahaugs are found over an area of 100 acres.

As the waters of Pleasant Bay are sheltered, the fishing is all done from dories, with basket rakes having 20 to 25 foot poles. The depth of water over the quahaug beds is from 6 to 16 feet.

In regard to the quahaug fishery in Pleasant Bay, Mr. Warren J. Nickerson of East Harwich, who has been acquainted with the industry for many years, says:--

Pleasant Bay is and has been a very valuable quahaug ground. Some fifty years ago there were shipped in vessels to New Haven and other places 13,000 bushels in one year from its waters. Since then there has been more or less taken from these waters by fishermen from the towns of Orleans, Chatham and Harwich. During the last few years there have been 25 regular fishermen and perhaps 12 transient. Probably 8,000 bushels a year for the last five years would be a fair estimate of the catch. Thirty per cent of these were "little necks."

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Area of quahaug territory (acres), 100 Number of men, 7 Number of boats, -- Value of boats, -- Number of dories, 7 Value of dories, $100 Value of implements, $100

Production.

"Little necks":-- Bushels, 700 Value, $1,750 Quahaugs:-- Bushels, 800 Value, $800 Total:-- Bushels, 1,500 Value, $2,550

Marion.

The town of Marion, situated on the western side of Buzzards Bay, possesses a spacious harbor, the waters of which furnish excellent quahaug grounds.

This territory, comprising a total of 400 acres, is chiefly confined to Marion harbor, running in a narrow strip parallel to the shore from Aucoot Cove all along the coast to Planting Island. Almost all the head of the harbor and all of Blankinship's and Planting Island Cove is quahaug area. Small grounds are also found at Wing's Cove and in the Weweantit River.

The town law requires each year the possession of a permit costing $1 before a person is entitled to dig quahaugs for sale. Nineteen of these licenses were issued in 1906, but not more than 2 or 3 of these went to men who depend upon quahauging for a living. The remaining 16 engage in the fishery to a greater or lesser extent in the summer season.

The annual production for 1906 was 800 bushels, valued at $1,500, as about half were "little necks." Mediums are not numerous, and are bought by the quahaug dealers at $1.25 per bushel and sold by them at so much per hundred.

In Marion the quahaug industry once flourished to a marked degree, but at present is very much on the decline. The coves, which once were bedded with "little necks" and quahaugs, are now nearly exhausted. No reasons exist for this condition of affairs, so far as known, except overdigging. Gradually for many years the supply has perceptibly declined, until now it is at a very low ebb. Where a thousand barrels were formerly produced, it is doubtful if a thousand bushels are now dug during the entire season, and the overworked beds are becoming each year more depleted. A. Howard Clark, in his report on the fisheries of Marion, estimates the quahaug production in 1880 as 2,000 bushels. The yield for 1906 is only 800 bushels, which shows an alarming decline in production. If once the waters of Marion could produce a large amount of quahaugs, there is no reason why they cannot again be made to produce the same, or more.

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Area of quahaug territory (acres), 400 Number of men, 19 Number of boats, -- Value of boats, -- Number of skiffs, 19 Value of skiffs, $200 Value of implements, $50

Production.

"Little necks":-- Bushels, 400 Value, $1,100 Quahaugs:-- Bushels, 400 Value, $400 Total:-- Bushels, 800 Value, $1,500

Mashpee.

The quahaug industry at Mashpee is at a low ebb. Natural facilities are favorable, but a lack of initiative on the part of the inhabitants causes a small production. The best grounds are found in Popponessett Bay and River, where a territory of 200 acres includes several oyster grants which are worked but little. On the east side of Waquoit Bay scattering quahaugs are found in Mashpee waters.

There are 3 regular and 4 intermittent quahaugers, with an invested capital of $70, who are obliged by the town laws to have a permit costing $1. The quahaug industry of the town has remained about the same for the last twenty-five years, and now a good quahauger can scarcely average 1½ to 2 bushels per day.

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Area of quahaug territory (acres), 400 Number of men, 7 Number of boats, -- Value of boats, -- Number of skiffs, 5 Value of skiffs, $50 Value of implements, $20

Production.

"Little necks":-- Bushels, 25 Value, $60 Quahaugs:-- Bushels, 225 Value, $225 Total:-- Bushels, 250 Value, $285

Mattapoisett.

The town of Mattapoisett, situated to the west of Marion, receives but little income from her shellfisheries, as the waters are for the most part too open and exposed for shellfish culture. The quahaug fishery is the most important shellfish industry of the town, but even this, when compared with the quahaug fishery of other towns, is rather unimportant, as most of the suitable territory is nonproductive.

Quahaugs are very unevenly distributed over 800 acres. The best quahaugs are found in Aucoot Cove and at Brants. In the main harbor quahaugs are found, though scattering, as indicated on the map.

No licenses or permits are required of the 28 men and boys who add to their income from time to time by quahauging. Most of these depend on other sources of employment for their main support. The industry as a whole is gradually declining, as overfishing has made it impossible for the natural supply to perpetuate itself.

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Area of quahaug territory (acres), 750 Number of men, 28 Number of boats, -- Value of boats, -- Number of skiffs, 28 Value of skiffs, $425 Value of implements, $75

Production.

"Little necks":-- Bushels, 400 Value, $1,100 Quahaugs:-- Bushels, 400 Value, $400 Total:-- Bushels, 800 Value, $1,500

Nantucket.

The quahaug industry of Nantucket ranks second to the main shellfish industry, the scallop fishery, and brings annually about $8,000 to the island. Nantucket is especially adapted for quahaugs, as Nantucket harbor, Maddequet harbor and the Island of Tuckernuck possess extensive territory. In spite of these natural advantages, which are as fine as any in the State, Nantucket produces only 6,000 bushels annually, whereas her resources, under proper cultural methods, warrant an annual production exceeding even that of Wellfleet, which is at present shipping 33,000 bushels.

The quahauging territory of Nantucket is divided into three sections: (1) Nantucket harbor; (2) Maddequet harbor; and (3) Tuckernuck.

In Nantucket harbor quahaugs are found over an area of 2,290 acres, both scattering and in thick patches. The principal areas are situated as follows:--

(1) Near the town between Monomoy Heights and the wharves is a territory of 240 acres. In the deep water directly out from the wharves there has been good quahauging although the bed was discovered only a few years ago.

(2) On the east side of the harbor, between Abram's Point and Pocomo Head, including Polpis harbor, are extensive grounds, comprising about 900 acres, of scattering quahaugs.

(3) On the opposite side of the harbor lies a strip of quahaug territory of 250 acres, which extends between Third Point and Bass Point.

(4) At the head of the harbor on both sides quahaugs are found over an area of 900 acres.

Maddequet harbor on the western end of the island has approximately 300 acres suitable for quahaugs, running from Broad Creek to Eel Point.

On the eastern end of Tuckernuck Island is a bed of quahaugs covering about 200 acres; while on the west side, between Muskeget and Tuckernuck, is a large area of 2,500 acres, which is more or less productive. The Tuckernuck fishery is largely "little necks," and it is from here that the shipment of small "seed" quahaugs has been made.

In the spring and fall men who have been boatmen during the summer work at quahauging. While 48 men work irregularly, about 18 men are engaged in the fishery during the entire summer, though probably never more than 30 are raking at any one time.

The production in 1906, from April I to November I, was 2,159 barrels, or 6,477 bushels; value, $7,557.

PRODUCTION, 1907.

==============+========================================+ | QUAHAUGS | |---------+-----------+---------+--------+ | Barrels | Average | Bushels | Value | MONTHS | | price per | | | | | Barrel | | | --------------+---------+-----------+---------+--------+ April | 138 | $3.50 | 414 | $483 | May | 257 | 4.00 | 771 | 1,028 | June | 460 | 4.00 | 1,380 | 1,840 | July | 355 | 3.00 | 1,065 | 1,060 | August | 312 | 3.50 | 936 | 1,092 | September | 302 | 3.42 | 906 | 1,032 | October | 123 | 4.00 | 369 | 492 | November | 50 | 3.00 | 150 | 150 | +---------+-----------+---------+--------+ Total | 1,997 | $3.60 | 5,991 |$7,177 | "Little necks"| 101 | | 303 | 1,310 | +---------+-----------+---------+--------+ Grand total | 2,098 | | 6,294 |$8,487 | ==============+=========+===========+=========+========+

+======================================================= | | "LITTLE NECKS" | |---------+-----------+---------+-------- | | Barrels | Average | Bushels | Value | MONTHS | | price per | | | | | Barrel | | +--------------+---------+-----------+---------+-------- |April | -- | -- | -- | -- |May | 4 | $14.00 | 12 | $56 |June | 13 | 14.00 | 39 | 182 |July | 33 | 14.00 | 90 | 462 |August | 20 | 15.00 | 60 | 300 |September | 22 | 10.00 | 66 | 220 |October | 9 | 10.00 | 27 | 90 |November | -- | -- | -- | -- | +---------+-----------+---------+-------- | Total | 101 | $12.97 | 303 |$1,310 +==============|=========+===========+=========+========

The month of June shows the largest production, as the summer people do not arrive in any numbers until July. The men who do the summer boating are engaged in the quahaug fishery during this month, naturally increasing the production.

The principal method is raking from a boat or dory with a long-handled basket rake, very similar in form to the rake used on Cape Cod. The second method, applicable only in shallow water, employs the use of a claw rake with a much shorter handle. The quahauger uses this rake in the shallow water, where he can wade at low tide. The largest claw rakes are often wider than the basket rakes, and are much cheaper.

At Nantucket about 5 per cent. of the entire catch is "little necks," which are found mostly at Tuckernuck. The quahauger usually makes three culls of his catch: (1) "little necks"; (2) medium; (3) large. A few blunts are obtained. The quahaugs are shipped chiefly to New York and Boston markets, either directly by the quahaugers or through Nantucket firms.

The boats used in the industry, numbering 24 sail, 6 power and 10 single dories, and approximating $6,150 in value, are in a way transitory capital, and are used in the winter for scalloping and other fishing. Nevertheless, it is necessary to class them as capital used in the quahaug fishery.

No special town laws are made for the regulation of the Nantucket quahaug fishery, although at any time by vote of the town suitable regulations and by-laws can be made.

Quahaugs have probably always been abundant at Nantucket, as over fifty years ago they were reported as plentiful. It is only of late years that the fishery has assumed any great importance, when the increasing prices, especially for the "little necks," made it profitable for men to enter the business. As it is, many men now quahaug only when they have nothing else to do.

From the statistics of the United States Fish Commission for 1879 we find that the annual catch for that year amounted to 150 bushels, valued at $75. As a striking contrast to this, the present production of 6,294 bushels, valued at $8,487, shows the great development of the fishery, which has been caused by more men entering the business, the opening up of new beds, such as the "little neck" beds of Tuckernuck, and the improved methods of raking in the deep water.

It is rather difficult to state definitely, from lack of past statistical figures, whether Nantucket industry is declining or improving. Between 1879 and 1906 no records are obtainable. The production figures for 1906 show 6,477 bushels, as compared with 6,144 bushels in 1907. Whether there was merely a sudden temporary increase in the supply by the opening up of new beds in 1906, or whether there is a steady decline, can only be determined by the production of future years. Many indications point to the latter, in spite of the assurance of the quahaugers that 1907 was a good season, because of high market prices.

The last few years have witnessed a change in the quahaug fishery,--a realization that there is more money in planting and raising quahaugs than in oyster culture. The out-of-State oystermen, especially in New York, have been the first to realize this, and have been buying, at the rate of $4 to $5 per bushel, all the small quahaugs they can procure, merely replanting, to reap the following year a yield of 3 to 6 bushels for every bushel planted.

Under the stimulus of the high prices offered, many bushels of small quahaugs have been shipped from the town, which thus lost what the planters gained. There is much feeling against such a practice, but so far nothing has been done by the town to stop this shipping of "seed" quahaugs. As the town has full control of its shellfisheries, it has only to pass a simple law allowing no quahaugs under 2 inches to be taken, and see that it is properly enforced. Such a matter should be attended to at once, as not only is the actual value of the catch diminished, but the industry is seriously impaired by the capture of these small quahaugs before they can spawn.

The only other way to remedy this difficulty is to grant licenses allowing the replanting of these small quahaugs on the barren parts of the harbor until they have obtained a proper size. The results obtained from the experiments of the commission in Polpis harbor show that quahaugs will grow rapidly when thus replanted in suitable places, and that a gain of ½ to ¾ of an inch, or 3 to 6 bushels for every bushel bedded, can be obtained during the six summer months (May to November).

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Area of quahaug territory (acres), 5,290 Number of men, 48 Number of boats, 30 Value of boats, $5,800 Number of dories, 10 Value of dories, $350 Value of gear, $600

Production.

"Little necks":-- Bushels, 303 Value, $1,310 Quahaugs:-- Bushels, 5,991 Value, $7,177 Total:-- Bushels, 6,294 Value, $8,487

New Bedford.

The quahaug industry of New Bedford was practically annihilated by the law of 1905, which closed the Acushnet River and Clark's Cove to both clammer and quahauger. Good beds of quahaugs, particularly "little necks," exist in both these waters, but can be taken only for bait. As several sewers run into the Acushnet River, and the public health was endangered by the consumption as food of the quahaugs taken from the river and the waters near its mouth, nearly 400 acres of quahaug territory were closed by the State Board of Health. What little available territory there is outside the prescribed area, off Clark's Point, is free to all.

A license is required to dig quahaugs for bait in this territory, and such is issued free of charge. The maximum amount permitted to be dug is 2 bushels per week of clams or quahaugs, or of both. Some 320 permits have been issued since the law was passed, in 1905. Eleven of these have been since revoked for unlawful conduct on the part of the possessors. For the first offence the license is merely revoked, for the second a fine of $10, and for the third $100 is imposed.

Orleans.

Although Orleans is well represented by all four main types of shellfish, the quahaug fishery is the leading industry of the town. A favorable coast line, fronting on the west the waters of Cape Cod Bay and bounded on the east by Pleasant Bay, provides excellent facilities for the quahaug fishery.

The main quahauging territory is in Cape Cod Bay. While the west coast of Orleans is only about a mile long, the privileges which allow the citizens of Orleans free fishing in Eastham waters, according to the act of incorporation in 1792, "whereby the benefits of the shellfishery were to be mutually shared," opens up an extensive tract of quahaug territory, from 2 to 3 miles in width, extending north as far as Billingsgate Island and the Wellfleet line. The actual Orleans quahaug territory consists only of 1,000 acres, which furnish but poor quahauging, while the water is several fathoms deep.

On the east side an entirely different condition prevails. Here in the waters of Pleasant Bay is a bed of quahaugs which, though worked for a long time, is still in excellent condition. The proportion of "little necks" is larger than on the west side, running about one-half the entire catch; neither is the water as deep here, rarely having a greater depth than 12 feet, and by no means as rough as the more exposed waters of Cape Cod Bay. The quahauging grounds here comprise 500 acres.

Although there are 1,500 acres of quahaug territory in the town of Orleans, only a small part of this is commercially productive, and the larger part of the fishery is carried on in Eastham waters.

The possession of two entirely different quahaug grounds, one on the east, the other on the west coast, makes practically two different industries, each of which will have to be considered separately.

(1) Cape Cod Bay Industry.--In Cape Cod Bay 50 men rake quahaugs whenever the weather will permit. Owing to the great depth of water, the work is difficult, requiring rakes with handles often 60 feet long. Two men generally go in one boat, the usual type being an elongated dory, some 30 to 32 feet over all, carrying from 4 to 12 horse-power gasolene engines. These boats are built to stand rough weather, and cost from $700 to $1,000 apiece. Thirty boats are employed in this business in the bay.

The quahauger averages perhaps 100 working days in a year, as in a strong wind and choppy sea it is impossible to rake in the deep water. A good fisherman expects to rake from 2 to 3 barrels of quahaugs a day. Five to ten years ago as many as 15 barrels were dug in a day by one man, but this is impossible now. Even as it is, the profits are large. The best quahauger in Orleans cleared in 1906 over $1,600, while several others made nearly $1,400. As at Wellfleet, the Orleans quahaugers receive licenses to replant their quahaugs along the shore, and it is customary to thus keep them until the New York or Boston markets offer suitable prices. Nearly two-thirds of these deep-water quahaugs are blunts, and perhaps one-tenth of the catch is "little necks."

(2) Pleasant Bay Industry.--About 25 men dig here from ordinary dories, using short rakes and tongs. The average wages are $2 to $3 per day, which is considerably less than the high wages of the Cape Cod Bay fishery; but many more days can be utilized during the year, while the work is much easier and the necessary outlay of capital is slight. Here the quahaugs run about one-half "little necks," and the proportion of blunts is small.

Little evidence of decline can be seen in Pleasant Bay, where the bed of quahaugs, although raked for a long time, still shows few signs of decrease. On the Cape Cod Bay side the reverse is true, and the supply is gradually diminishing.

The same town laws for regulation of the quahaug fishery apply for Wellfleet, Eastham and Orleans. (See Wellfleet.)

The main historical features of the quahaug industry at Orleans have been similar to Wellfleet, the industry lying practically dormant until 1894, when it rapidly reached its present production. Unfortunately, but little data can be obtained for comparison of the industry of 1879 with 1907. Ernest Ingersoll reports, in 1879:--

At Orleans, some few men who go mackereling in summer stay at home and dig clams in winter, getting perhaps 50 barrels of quahaugs among others, which are peddled in the town.

Comparing the two years by table, we find:--

=======================+=================+=============================== |1879. |1907. | -----------------------+-----------------+------------------------------+ Annual production, |150 bushels, |33,000 bushels. | Value of production, |$82.50, |$41,350. | Number of men, |A few, |75. | Location, quahaug beds,|Pleasant Bay, |Cape Cod Bay and Pleasant Bay.| Market, |Home consumption,|New York and Boston. | =======================+=================+===============================

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

==========================+===============+===============+========= | Cape Cod Bay. | Pleasant Bay. | Total. --------------------------+---------------+---------------+--------- Area (acres), | 1,000 | 500 | 1,500 Number of men, | 50 | 25 | 75 Number of boats, | 30 | - | 30 Value of boats, | $23,000 | - | $23,000 Number of dories, | - | 25 | 25 Value of dories, | - | $500 | $500 Value of implements, | $1,250 | $250 | $1,500 | | | Production. | | | | | | "Little necks":-- | | | Bushels, | 2,700 | 3,000 | 5,700 Value, | $6,750 | $7,000 | $13,750 | | | Quahaugs:-- | | | Bushels, | 24,300 | 3,000 | 27,300 Value, | $24,300 | $3,300 | $27,600 | | | Total:-- | | | Bushels, | 27,000 | 6,000 | 33,000 Value, | $31,050 | $10,300 | $41,350 ==========================+===============+===============+=========

Provincetown.

No commercial quahaug fishery is carried on at Provincetown. A few quahaugs, chiefly "little necks," are found in the tide pools among the thatch on the northwestern side of the harbor.

Swansea.

A quahaug fishery existed in Swansea until three years ago. Since that time there has been no commercial fishery, though a few quahaugs are still dug for home consumption.

Truro.

Occasionally a few scattering quahaugs are found on the bars, which extend out one-quarter of a mile from shore on the bay side. No quahaug fishery is carried on.

Wareham.

The town of Wareham, situated on the northeast side of Buzzards Bay and separated from the adjoining town of Bourne by Cohasset Narrows, has a coast line indented with numerous small inlets, bays and rivers, which afford excellent opportunities for the growth of the quahaug. The villages of Onset, Wareham and part of Buzzards Bay enjoy the privileges of this fishery.

Quahaugs are found over practically the entire territory, and comprise a total area of about 1,300 acres. Although much of this area is barren, the commercial fishery is maintained by small isolated beds which occur here and there.

The two principal centers of the industry are in the Wareham River and in Onset Bay. At Onset the whole bay, except the oyster grants, as included between the southeast end of Mashnee Island and Peters Neck, is used for quahauging. A few quahaugs are found in Broad Cove, and fair digging is obtained in Buttermilk Bay and Cohasset Narrows. The Wareham River, outside the oyster grants, and a narrow shore strip from Weweantit River to Tempe's Knob, comprise the rest of the territory. In Onset Channel a fine bed exists in deep water, 2 to 4 fathoms, but the ground is so hard that not much digging is done.

It will be seen from the map that practically 75 per cent. of the quahaug territory is taken up by oyster grants, especially in the Wareham River and Onset Bay. Town sentiment is in a chaotic state over the oyster and quahaug deadlock, and much friction naturally exists between the opposing factions, the quahaugers and oystermen. The struggle between these two parties was at its height several years ago, and the enmity still continues, though not so openly, owing to the decline of the quahaug industry. Rightly managed, affairs ought to be so arranged that prosperity might be brought to both factions; but town customs and town laws, poorly enforced at the best, are hardly able to cope with this evil, which has resulted in much expense legally and financially to both parties, and both industries are badly crippled in consequence,--the oyster industry by lack of protection and the quahaug industry by loss of grounds. It is hoped that in the future suitable arrangements can be made for both industries, and that the quahaug industry, which is at present declining, can be put on an equal footing with the oyster industry, by granting licenses to plant and grow quahaugs.

Most of the digging is done with garden rakes, potato diggers or by hand. Some tongs are used, but few if any long-handled basket rakes, since the digging is chiefly confined to the shallow water, not more than 10 feet deep, except in Onset Channel, where it ranges from 12 to 24 feet.

No information or statistical records of the quahaug fishery of Wareham can be obtained, and it is therefore impossible to draw any comparison between the present industry and the industry of twenty-five years ago.

The decline of the quahaug fishery in Wareham is an established fact. The production of 6,000 bushels for 1906 is far less than the production of five years ago. Since 1901 the output has steadily declined, and where the quahauger once was able to rake 5 bushels at a tide, to-day he can rake scarcely 1 bushel in the same time. It is only a question of a few years when the natural supply will be completely exterminated. The only salvation of the industry in Wareham is to increase the natural supply by quahaug farming.

SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.

Area of quahaug territory (acres), 1,300 Number of men, 50 Number of boats, - Value of boats, - Number of dories, 50 Value of dories, $750 Value of implements, $250

Production.

"Little necks":-- Bushels, 3,000 Value, $7,500 Quahaugs:-- Bushels, 3,000 Value, $3,000 Total:-- Bushels, 6,000 Value, $10,500

Wellfleet.

The town of Wellfleet possesses the finest quahaug industry in Massachusetts. More men are engaged in the business and the annual production is larger than that of any other town of the State.

In colonial days the towns of Orleans, Eastham and Wellfleet were incorporated as one town,--the town of Eastham. In 1763 an act was passed incorporating the North Precinct of Eastham into a district by the name of Wellfleet, "Reserving to the inhabitants of said town the privileges by them heretofore enjoyed of all ways to and of erecting houses on the beaches and islands for the convenience of the fishery of all kinds, and of anchorage and of landing all goods or wares at any of their common landing places in any of the harbors of said Eastham in like manner as they might have done if this act had never been made and passed." By this act were created the two independent towns of Eastham and Wellfleet, which held in common all fisheries, thus giving the mutual right of the shellfisheries to both towns.

In 1797 another act of incorporation, separating Orleans from Eastham, was enacted, which provided that the benefits of the shellfisheries of these two towns were to be mutually enjoyed.

The result of these two acts was to give Eastham and Wellfleet and at the same time Eastham and Orleans mutual rights of the shellfishery, but forbidding mutual shellfisheries between Wellfleet and Orleans. While this may seem to give theoretically the advantage to Eastham, actually the town gains nothing in the quahaug fishery, as Orleans has practically no productive grounds on the bay side, and the Orleans quahaugers fish in the Eastham waters.

The quahaug territory of Wellfleet comprises about 2,500 acres, and approximately takes up all the harbor, wherever there are no oyster grants, running from the "Deep Hole" between Great Island and Indian Neck southward to the Eastham line. Outside of these limits a few quahaugs are found on the flats of Duck Creek and along the shore flats of the town. They are more abundant on the north side of Egg Island, where they are taken in shallow water with ordinary hand rakes. The best quahauging is found in the channel extending from an imaginary line between Lieutenant's Island and Great Beach Hill south to Billingsgate. The greatest depth at low tide is 4½ fathoms and the general average is about 3 fathoms. In this channel are found most of the "little necks," small blunts and small sharps.

Outside of the oyster grants, quahaugs are found south of Great Island, north of Billingsgate Island on the west side of the harbor, on Lieutenant's Island bar and at the mouth of Blackfish Creek. A few quahaugs, both sharps and blunts, are raked with 25-foot rakes in the shallow water 6 to 8 feet near the beach, usually on a sandy bottom.

The principal market for Wellfleet quahaugs is New York, though many are sent to Boston and other parts of the country, even to the middle west. Quahaugs have been shipped from Wellfleet to Milwaukee and arrived in good condition after ten days.

The annual production is 33,000 bushels, one-sixth of these, 5,500 bushels, being "little necks." There were 140 men engaged in the fishery in 1906, and 145 permits were granted in 1907. The average yield for a day's raking is 4 bushels, although an exceptional quahauger can sometimes rake 7 bushels.

Practically all the raking is done in deep water, with rakes the handles of which are often 47 feet long. Each quahauger has a set of handles of various lengths for different depths of water. Both power boats and "cats" are used here in quahauging, the power boats possessing considerable advantage over the sail boat. Thirty-eight power boats and 62 sail boats, both single and double manned, are used at Wellfleet.

At present there is every indication of a declining fishery. Until the last three years the industry has been steadily on the increase since 1894. The maximum production was reached a few years ago, and the industry is slowly on the decline, unless the opening up of new beds gives it a fresh start. Unfortunately, all the quahaugers do not realize the possibility of this seemingly inexhaustible supply giving out, and believe it will continue forever; but any one can see that it is impossible for the natural supply to continue when such inroads are yearly made, and that it is only a question of time when the best business asset of the town will become extinct.

For years there has been an antagonistic feeling between the quahaugers and the oystermen, due to the conflicting interests of these industries. Although the quahaug territory has been narrowed down by the giving of oyster grants in the harbor, the quahaug fishery has not suffered severely, as the poorer quahaug grounds were alone granted, with the idea that more money could be made by using these for oyster culture. Although these grants were laid out in good faith, injustice in many instances has been done the quahaug industry; but on the whole the change has been for the benefit of the town. In the broad waters of Wellfleet harbor there is room for both industries, and there is no reason why both should not prosper if wisely regulated, without the intervention of town politics. At present this antagonism has hurt the interests of both, and it is manifestly unfair that either should drive the other out while there is room for both to prosper.

Wellfleet is the only town that can boast of a quahaug club. This club was formed in 1904, and had an enrollment of practically all the quahaugers.

Permits are required of every man engaged in the quahaug fishery. These cost $1 apiece, and are granted on application to any one who has been a resident of the town for six months. These permits are to be obtained each year, on or before May 1, after which date an additional charge of 50 cents is made for collecting. No person without a regular permit is allowed to catch quahaugs for market. Permits were first issued in 1904.