OF MASSACHUSETTS. 53 



mediums and one-third large. Here several men, using long-handled 

 rakes, make from $3 to $5 per day in favorable weather. The markets 

 are principally New York and Boston, where the quahaugs are shipped, 

 mostly in sacks, which is a cheaper and better way than shipment in 

 barrels. Here the quahaug season lasts from April 1 to November 1, 

 most of the work being done in the summer, when the oyster business 

 is at a standstill. 



There are no town laws governing the quahaug fishery, other than 

 forbidding a non-resident of the town the right of quahauging; and 

 no licenses are required. 



No records of the history of the quahaug industry at Barnstable 

 can be found. A. Howard Clark in 1879 makes the following brief 

 statement, which is the only record obtainable : — 



Both soft clams aud quahaugs are found in the harbor [Osterville harbor], 

 but no considerable fishing for them is carried on. 



Summary of Industry. 



Area of quahaug territory (acres), ....... 950 



Number of men, ........... 25 



Number of boats, - 



Value of boats, - 



Number of dories, 25 



Value of dories, $500 



Value of implements, $350 



Production. 



" Little necks " : — 



Bushels, 800 



Value, $2,000 



Quahaugs : — 



Bushels, 1,700 



Value, $1,700 



Total: — 



Bushels, 2,500 



Value, $3,700 



Bourne. 



The town of Bourne was formerly included in the town of Sand- 

 wich, and many old laws relating to shellfish, such as oyster regulation 

 in Barlow Biver, were enacted by the town of Sandwich. Situated at 

 the head of Buzzards Bay, and separated from the adjacent town of 

 Wareham by Cohasset Narrows, Bourne has many advantages for 

 a profitable quahaug industry. It possesses nearly twice as much qua- 

 haug territory as Wareham, but, as most of this lies unpi*oductive. 

 has a smaller annual output. The territory includes over 2,500 acres of 

 ground, most of which consists of flats of mud, sand and eel grass, 

 covered with shallow water. It is very sparsely set with quahaugs. 

 Outside the oyster grants practically the entire stretch of coast from 



