2G4 



GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



lictailvd statement of Hie quantities and values of Hie products Continued. 



a Includes $101,400 enhancement in refining. 



b Includes $25,000 enhancement in refining. 



NOTE. The menhaden caught by New Bedford vessels were sold to oil factories in ol her States and are credited to thisdistiict at their 

 value to the fishermen. Their enhanced value as oil and gnauo is credited to tlie States where the factories are located. 



80. AGAWAM TO FAIRHAVEX. 



AGAWA>I STATION. At Agawam station, iii East Wareham, 3 miles iulaud from the northern 

 end of Buzzard's Bay, is Half- way pond River. This empties into the Wareham River, and the 

 latter into the bay. Large bodies of alewives annually pass from the bay up these rivers to spawn, 

 a considerable number being taken at East Wareham. The State law determines the time when 

 they may be taken; this period is between April 1 and June 1. The exact time when they may be 

 caught, the price at which they may be sold to citizens, and other regulations are left to a com- 

 mittee of three from each of the towns of Wareham and Plymouth. This committee sells the 

 exclusive privilege of the catch at auction, and $400 to $500 a season is generally realized by the 

 sale. The -price which the citizens must pay is fixed by the committee at 16 cents a hundred fish, 

 or 6i cents a barrel; one barrel is allowed to each inhabitant who may desire it. No fish may be 

 sold to any except citizens for the space of two hours after the fish are caught, but after that time 

 they may be sold to any person at such price as can be agreed upon. Provision is made that 

 citizens shall always bo able to obtain a limited supply at the price already mentioned, namely, 

 16 cents a hundred. The bulk of the catch is sold by peddlers through the neighboring towns. 

 At the present time the catch is not more than two-thirds as large as it was a number of years 

 ago. In 1880 the fisheries of this place gave employment to six men for 2 months. The catch 

 was 700 barrels of alewives, worth $1,050. 



Mr. Ingersoll gives the following report on the present condition of the oyster industry of 

 Wareham and vicinity: 



"About 5 years ago no oyster was better received in the Boston market than that from Ware- 

 ham; it held the first place. Though it has lost this distinction by 'opening' poorly of late, it is 

 still of fine quality and in demand by the neighborhood markets. Wagon-loads are sent off to 

 Plymouth, Middleborough, and elsewhere, frequently through the winter; and during the season of 

 1877-'78 the Old Colony Railway carried 780 bushels in shell from the Wareham station, and about 

 150 gallons of opened stock. From East Wareham (Agawam station) there were shipped, during 

 the winter of 1S77-'7S, 924 bushels in shell, while partial accounts of the next season (1879-'80) 

 indicate a large increase. By far the larger part of the yield, however, is sold small, as 'seed 



