OF MASSACHUSETTS. 205 



Kingston. 



The condition of the elam 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 ter- 

 ritory. 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 inter- 

 mittently 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 Dux- 

 bury 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 



