272 



GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



merchants have persistently continued this fishery and have managed to make it generally suc- 

 cessful. The demand for sperm oil and whale oil, as well as for whalebone, will never entirely 

 cease, for there are uses to which these products can be put that cannot be met by other oils or 

 substances. There are in this city several large oil refineries and candle factories, where the oils 

 are refined and the spermaceti made into large cakes for use in the arts or molded into candles. 

 The whalebone is sent to the bone-workers in Boston and New York, where it is made into whips, 

 corset and drees bone, and adapted to many other uses. 



The whaling fleet of New Bedford at present numbers 123 vessels, aggregating 31,568.83 tons, 

 valued, with outfits, at $2,414,000, and maimed by 3,226 men. The catch of the New Bedford 

 vessels and of the five vessels belonging to other ports in this district in 1879 was valued at 

 $1,897,009, and included 1,135,260 gallons of sperm oil, 595,098 gallons of whale oil, 242,476 pounds of 

 whalebone, 18,100 pounds of ivory, and 62J pounds of ambergris. In 1880 the oil aggregated about 

 1,865,262 gallons, and the bone about 380,364 pounds. The state of this industry in the city of 

 New Bedford at different periods during the past forty years has been as follows: 



Exclusive of the whale fishery, the products of the fisheries for 1879 included 61,000 barrels of 

 menhaden, 33,684 lobsters, 1,800 barrels of fresh mackerel, 824,200 pounds of tautog, flounders, 

 and other fish, and 2,500 gallons of scallops, having a total value of about $50,000. 



Clark's Point forms the southerly part of the city of New Bedford, the Acushnet River on the 

 east and Clark's Cove on the west. Its length is about 2 miles. On the end of the point are a light- 

 house and Government fortifications. Four pounds or traps are fished here. They caught in 1880 

 125,000 pounds of various species of fish valued at $2,200. The value of the traps is $2,000, and 

 the number of persons employed is eight. 



Concerning the oyster business in this vicinity, Mr. Ingersoll reports as follows: 



"The Acushnet River, just above New Bedford, has been found wanting in the qualities neces- 

 sary to make it good planting ground for oysters. The experiment has been tried, but has failed. 

 No cultivation exists there, therefore. 



"The principal dealers in the town buy yearly a superior stock of oysters in the Chesapeake 

 Bay, bringing one cargo of 3,500 bushels for bedding, and another cargo for winter use; the 

 schooner Hastings, of nearly 100 tons burthen, is the vessel used at present. These oysters cost 

 65 cents when laid down, but grow very little on these beds, since there is no fresh water to start 

 them. In addition to this, one firm furnishes oysters from Providence River, Wareham, and else- 

 where. The rest of the town, as calculated by them, use about 200 bushels and 100 gallons a 

 week for five months. This makes New Bedford's estimated consumption, annually, about 13,000 

 bushels. Five men are employed six months as openers, at 17 cents a gallon. 



"Just west of New Bedford is a little stream and inlet, known as Westport River. This was 

 the locality of an ancient bed of native oysters, which has now nearly disappeared through too 

 great raking. They are said to be very large aud of good quality, but not more than 50 bushels 



