OF MASSACHUSETTS. 121 



in 1775. Its destruction was due to overfishing and the utilization of 

 the shells for lime, which soon destroyed the natural bar. 



(5) Chatham. — A natural oyster bed once existed in the Oyster 

 Pond, but no trace of it now remains. 



(6) Harwich. — Herring River in the town of Harwich still pos- 

 sesses the remnants of a natural oyster bed, as occasionally a few 

 oysters can be gathered along its banks. This bed once comprised a 

 stretch of three-quarters of a mile along the river. 



(7) Yarmouth. — The town of Yarmouth once possessed a natural 

 oyster bed in Mill Creek, but this was fished out by 1895 and then 

 granted for oyster culture. 



(8) Barnstable. — There is a natural oyster bed at Centreville. 



(9) Martha's Vineyard. — Native oysters are said to have existed in 

 the brackish ponds on the south side of the island; a few are found 

 there at the present time. 



(10) Falmouth. — A few native oysters are to be found in the salt 

 ponds on the south coast of the town. In Squeteague Pond and Wild 

 Harbor oysters were once native. 



Buzzards Bay comprises the best natural oyster territory in the 

 State. At the present time the natural oyster industry has been sup- 

 planted by oyster culture, which gradually took the place of the de- 

 clining natural oyster fishery. While natural beds still exist to some 

 extent, they are, to all practical purposes, extinct. Where once there 

 were extensive areas, now there are only scattering oysters. In many 

 cases the beds have been so completely destroyed that the ground has 

 been granted for oyster culture. That Buzzards Bay is a " natural set 

 area " can be readily seen by the amount of " seed oysters " that are 

 caught by the oystermen who plant shells for the purpose. 



(11) Bourne. — (a) Red Brook Harbor. — In 1879 Ernest Ingersoll 

 says : — 



On the southern shore of this harbor, about a mile from its head, exists 

 a living bed of natural oysters some 7 acres in extent, under the protection 

 of the town for public benefit. The oysters growing on it are reported to 

 be large, but not of extraordinary size, scalloped and roundish, differing in 

 no respect from aged oysters grown after transplanting to another part of 

 the bay. 



In 1907 this natural bed had been reduced to 3 acres, and the unpro- 

 ductive part granted. 



(b) Barlow River. — In 1873 an act was passed to protect the oyster 

 fishery in Barlow River, by ordering a closed season of one and one- 

 half years. The passage of this act shows that a natural bed of im- 

 portance existed in this river, and that even in 1873 the effects of over- 

 fishing were apparent. At the present time there are but few native 

 oysters in Barlow River, or, as it is sometimes called, Pocasset River. 



(c) Monument River. — A natural bed also existed in Monument 



