OF MASSACHUSETTS. 93 



The main disadvantage of the town laws is found in the jealousy 

 of neighboring towns. One town may make a law to oppose another 

 town, and will often injure its own interests thereby. In this connection 

 the condition at Dennis, during the winter of 1904^05, was an instance. 

 As scallops were remarkably abundant, the town made by-laws in- 

 tended to exclude from its scallop fisheries the residents of other towns. 

 At the close of the scalloping season, when the ice came, the scallops 

 were still abundant. The inhabitants of the town thought they could 

 get the rest next season. They did not know that the scallop does not 

 live two years. The next year not a single scallop of that set was to 

 be found; they had died. If other scallopers had been allowed to 

 go there, thousands of dollars could have been saved, and many scal- 

 lopers given employment. This one case illustrates the disadvantages 

 of town jealousy; and Dennis is by no means to blame, as it merely 

 protected itself against the similar restrictions of neighboring Cape 

 Cod towns. 



The town laws which benefit the scallop industry are made each year 

 according to the condition of the industry. Edgartown and Nantucket 

 have perhaps the best-governed scallop industries. Laws requiring 

 licenses, regulating the opening of the season and restricting at proper 

 times the catch, so as to get the best market prices instead of over- 

 stocking the market when the prices are low, are to be recommended 

 on account of their benefit to the scallopers. 



History. 



In considering the rise of a fishing industry, it is often difficult to 

 state exactly the year when the industry started, as there are differences 

 of opinion as to how large a fishery should be before it could be justly 

 considered an industry. The scallop fishery has existed for years, but 

 did not become an established industry of the State before the year 

 1872. At that time there was hardly any demand for scallops, and the 

 catch was with difficulty marketed. Since then the market demand 

 for the scallop has steadily increased, until the supply can hardly meet 

 the popular demand. It seems almost incredible that the scallop as 

 an article of food should once have been scorned and practically un- 

 known. 



During the years of 1876 and 1877 the industry took a sudden spurt. 

 At this time the introduction of the dredge on Cape Cod revolutionized 

 the industry, and made it possible to open up the deep-water fields. 

 The industry on Cape Cod first started at Hyannis, where a number 

 of men entered the new business; and for several years the production 

 increased rapidly, with the opening of new territories and improved 

 methods of capture. While the natural supply has remained the same 

 or declined in certain localities, as has been shown in a previous part 

 of this report, the value of the industry, in regard to the number of 

 men engaged and capital invested, has steadily increased. 



