126 THE MOLLUSK FISHERIES 



severely because of the scare resulting from the marketing of oysters 

 from contaminated waters. The Cape and Buzzards Bay oysters are 

 in general free from all sewage contamination, and should not be con- 

 sidered on the same basis as the impure varieties from outside the State. 

 Naturally, the Massachusetts oystermen desire that there be some guar- 

 antee for the purity of the oysters marketed, as their interests suffer 

 because this impure stock is often sold under the name of the Cape 

 oyster. If laws were passed requiring the inspection and certification 

 of marketed oysters in regard to healthful conditions under which they 

 have been produced, both the oyster planter and the consumer would 

 be benefited. 



There is but little doubt that the oyster industry can be still further 

 developed by opening waste territory which at this time does not ap- 

 pear available, since under existing conditions proper capital cannot 

 be induced to enter the business. The oyster industry demands more 

 attention than it has hitherto received, and must be considered an im- 

 portant asset of the Commonwealth. 



History of the Industry. 



Although the oyster laws are the mile-stones which mark the prog- 

 ress of the oyster industry, and any consideration of the development 

 of these laws naturally gives many historical features, it is neverthe- 

 less necessary, at the risk of repetition, to give a separate account 

 of the history of the oyster fishery. The Massachusetts oyster fishery 

 can be divided historically into three distinct periods: (1) the free 

 fishing period; (2) the period of bedding southern oysters; (3) the 

 period of oyster grants. 



(1) The Free Native Fishery (1620-1840). In the early colonial 

 days the oyster fishery was considered in the same way as the other 

 shellfisheries are now looked upon, i.e., held to be the common property 

 of the inhabitants of the Commonwealth. The natural supply was abun- 

 dant enough to meet the needs of all the inhabitants, and for many 

 years no signs of decline were manifest. In 1775 the natural beds of 

 Wellfleet gave out, furnishing the first record of unmistakable decline. 

 .Prom that time there arose an extensive series of protective laws, with 

 the one object of preserving the natural supply by limiting the demand. 

 This policy of protective laws, though perhaps temporarily beneficial, 

 was based on an erroneous principle. It was preventive, but not con- 

 structive, and did not build up the demolished fishery. 



(2) Oyster Bedding (1840-70). With the decline of the natural 

 beds, the practice of bedding southern " plants " became an important 

 part of the oyster trade. The southern oysters were bedded on the 

 flats in the spring and taken up for market in the fall. Salem, Well- 

 fleet and Boston were the leading places in this new phase of the oyster 

 industry, and many thousand bushels were annually planted. 



(3) Oyster Grants (1870-1908). So successful was this summer 



