FISHERIES OP THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES. 27 



NOTES AND DETAILED STATISTICS OF PRINCIPAL FISHERIES. 



Oyster. — The increase in the value of the products from $3,894,270 

 in 1901 to $6,230,558 in 1904 is due principally to the extension and 

 success of oyster culture. In 1904, 2,847,702 bushels of market oys- 

 ters were taken from the private areas and only 20,805 bushels from 

 the natural reefs, a remarkable exhibition of the development of the 

 cultivated grounds. As regards the value of the output, New York 

 is now the foremost American state in oyster culture. The recent 

 growth of this industry has been especially extensive at the east- 

 ern end of Long Island. Previous to 1900, oysters shipped from 

 that region were planted elsewhere before marketing, but in recent 

 years they have been permitted to remain until large enough for 

 market. -Of the market oysters credited to the private areas of the 

 state, 378,410 bushels, worth $404,135, and of the seed oysters 

 46,150 bushels, worth $39,670, were taken up by vessels owned in 

 Connecticut and elsewhere outside of New York. 



Clam and scallop. — The quantity of clams and scallops produced in 

 1904 shows less change from that in 1901. The yield of hard clams 

 on the public beds decreased from 175,536 bushels, worth $232,121, 

 in 1901 to 119,637 bushels, worth $199,851, in 1904, but partial com- 

 pensation for this is found in an increase on the private areas in the 

 same period from 9,260 bushels, worth $25,565, to 47,365 bushels, 

 worth $103,748. The cultivation of hard clams has made greater 

 progress in this state than anywhere else in the United States. 

 Little change occurred in the yield of soft clams, which amounted 

 to 74,093 bushels in 1904, but there has been a steady increase in 

 the market value. The price was 76 cents a bushel in 1901 and 88 

 cents in 1904. The yield of scallops decreased from 184,954 bushels 

 in 1901 to 148,799 bushels in 1904, but the price increased from 

 53 cents to 98 cents a bushel. The scallop fishery is prosecuted 

 principally in Peconic Bay, at the eastern end of Long Island, where 

 the output has a much greater value than the combined yield of all 

 other parts of the country. 



Menhaden. — As regards the weight of products the menhaden is 

 by far the most prominent of all species of fish credited to New 

 York; the yield in 1904 amounted to 216,399,600 pounds. The 

 total value of the large catch, however, was only $693,929. This fish 

 is used almost entirely in the manufacture of oil and fertilizer. 



