170 THE MOLLUSK FISHERIES 



located so as not to be in danger of being submerged with sand. This 

 valuation would be too high for an average, since all the acres are not 

 equally well seeded and located. The clammers are generally impressed 

 that the industry can be extensively and profitably developed, and their 

 only fear is that they will not be able to secure lots permanently. The 

 greater part of the land available for this purpose is covered by the deeds 

 of people owning farms along the river, and the consent of the land owners 

 has to be obtained before lots can be taken up. It seems probable, how- 

 ever, that the business will continue to progress unless checked by com- 

 plications that may arise relative to the occupancy of the grounds. 



The result of this first practical attempt at clam culture was a 

 complete failure, and after a few years' trial the clam farms were all 

 given up. The main reason for this failure was lack of protection 

 both from outsiders and from one another. Nevertheless, this attempt 

 proved that with proper protection a most successful industry could be 

 made of clam farming. The following statement by Prof. James L. 

 Kellogg, in the United States Fish Commission Bulletin for 1899, 

 describes the failure of clam culture at Essex : 



It is not difficult to determine the reasons for the failure of the culture 

 experiment at Essex. The areas upon which clams were planted were those 

 which were at the time unproductive. The beds still containing clams 

 the " town flats " were free to any native of Essex. The one thing which 

 was absolutely necessary to the success of any planter was that the clams 

 on his leased ground should not be disturbed by other diggers. This pro- 

 tection was apparently not given in any case by the town authorities, and, 

 as no person lived within sight of the majority of the beds, it was quite 

 impossible for any man to guard his property much of the time. 



As to what followed it is not easy to obtain definite testimony from the 

 clammers themselves. Other citizens of the town, however, and some few 

 clammers, intimate that most of the men began to take clams from any 

 property but their own, and that in this way the full result of no man's 

 labor in planting was ever realized. Others who did not make clam digging 

 a regular business, but only dug occasionally, are said to have had no 

 respect for the rights of those who had leased property. It was said that 

 at times when vessel builders and the shoe factory released employees, many 

 of them, for lack of other occupation, turned their attention to clam dig- 

 ging, with the result that too many clams were at the time taken from 

 the flats. 



Another reason for the failure of the Essex experiment is that a number 

 of short-sighted clammers began to fear, after the clams had been planted, 

 that the production might suddenly become so great as to glut their mar- 

 ket, and, as a consequence, force prices down. Some few individuals, in- 

 spired by this fear, are reported to have said and to have done everything 

 in their power to prevent the success of the experiment. In all cases, it 

 is said, the selectmen of the town, who issued the leases, refused their aid 

 in the prosecution of trespassers. 



In spite of the fact, which had been demonstrated in the experiment, 

 that when properly planted the clams grew much more rapidly and became 

 much larger than on the natural beds, no applications for a renewal of the 



