80 GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



appeared from the river, ami there being fewer sturgeon than formerly ami a lessened demand for 

 the latter. Present indications betoken, however, a return of the salmon fishery before very many 

 years."* 



One hundred ami twenty-one years later, judging from another passage in the same volume, 

 the fisheries were still important. Wheeler says : 



"The town, at a special meeting in January, 1749, appointed Ensign William Vincent to 

 inspect the fishery at Brunswick, and to regulate the same according to instructions from the 

 selectmen."! 



These statements evidently relate to the river rather than the sea fisheries. It is, however, 

 known that the people of the region were also interested in the bay fisheries to a considerable 

 extent for many years. But later, other industries sprang up, and the fisheries were neglected. 



The inhabitants are now principally engaged in agriculture, having large and fertile fields, to 

 which they devote most of their energies. Ship-building has been extensive, and a considerable 

 number of mechanics have, until a very recent date, found constant employment in building large 

 vessels for the coasting and foreign trade. None are wholly dependent upon the fisheries for a, 

 livelihood, and, barring those living on the islands, few visit the fishing-grounds with any regularity 

 except in midsummer, when the mackerel are abundant. 



THE CLAMMING INTERESTS. The shores of the bay abound in clams, and almost every cove 

 between Portland and Harpswell has extensive mud and sand fiats where the species is peculiarly 

 abundant. During the winter ami early spring the farmers have many spare hours, ami the 

 mechanic-:, carpenters, and ship-builders are out of employment. At such times many of them 

 engage extensively in clamming, and after selling as many as possible in shell to the peddlers and 

 to Portland dealers, they "shuck" the remainder for use as bait in the vessel fisheries. 



A few parties begin digging as early as October, but the majority usually find other employ- 

 ment until late in December. From this time till the following May not less than one hundred 

 and eighty-five men and boys engage in this work, some of them continuing till the first of June. 



In addition to the above, quite a number of fishermen from the adjoining towns and numerous 

 islands engage in this business to a greater or less extent. The, men build small shanties along 

 the shore where they spend the hours of high water in shucking their clams. At about half-ebb 

 they start for the flats, following the water line as it recedes, and gradually working back with it 

 as it advances. Several crews often occupy the same shanty, and two or three frequently join in 

 the purchase of a small boat, which enables them to visit the more distant flats. When the tides 

 "serve" they can spend a greater part of the day in digging, but ordinarily only one tide is util- 

 ized. The average clammer will dig from 2i to 3 bushels at a tide, while a rapid worker who 

 knows the grounds will often get twice that quantity. 



One of the largest dealers of the locality, Mr. Hamilton, of Chebeague Island, estimates the 

 quantity of clams dug during the season of 1878-'79 at 4G,100 bushels, over 39,000 bushels of which 

 were shelled and salted for bait. If to this quantity we add the catch of the Portland and Harps- 

 well fishermen it is seen that not less than 00,000 bushels are taken annually from the flats along 

 the shores of Casco Bay. The price, according to the same authority, varies greatly from year to 

 year, the average for shell clams being from 75 cents to $1 per bushel. The shelled, or salted 

 clams, range from 83 to $6.50 per barrel, according to the supply and demand. These figures rep- 

 resent the value received by the fishermen for the clam-meats, as the salt and barrels are always 

 furnished by the dealers. In 1875 the fishermen received $G per barrel, and in 1879 the price had 

 dropped to $3. 



* Wheeler's History of Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell, Maine, p. 115. \ Ibid., p. 552. 



