OF MASSACHUSETTS. 117 



cent, respectively. This fact does not indicate anything about the 

 food value of the scallops from these localities, but is merely cited to 

 show the variation in the weight of the " eye," and that Buzzard's Bay 

 scallops should yield a greater return per bushel. Beside this variation, 

 two conditions influence the size and weight of the " eye " : (1) the sea- 

 son or time of year, as the " eye " is reported by the fishermen " to turn 

 out more to the bushel" when the cold weather comes on; (2) the age 

 of the scallop, as the "eye" of a two-year-old scallop (one that has 

 passed the period of allotted life) is looser in texture and weighs less. 

 (d) Weight of Shell. — Differences in the weight of the shell for 

 scallops of the same size occur in different localities. The weight of the 

 shell is determined by two factors, (1) the rapidity of growth; (2) the 

 amount of lime salts in the water. These factors are rarely the same 

 for any two localities, and naturally variations would be expected in 

 the weight of the shell. The average weight of the shell for a 65-milli- 

 meter scallop is 21.9 grams, yet in six localities we find the weights 

 ranging anywhere between 20 and 23 grams. 



The Laws. 



The question of scallop legislation has attained considerable impor- 

 tance during the past four years, particularly in regard to the " seed " 

 scallop. During this period three laws have been passed, with the 

 ostensible purpose of protecting the " seed," but have proved far from 

 satisfactory both from the standpoint of the fishermen and the officials 

 employed by State and towns for their enforcement. The reasons for 

 the unsatisfactory state of affairs resulting from this frequent change in 

 legislation are twofold: (1) it is almost impossible to give a compre- 

 hensive legal definition of a "seed" scallop; (2) a general law neces- 

 sarily cannot suit all localities. The present law of 1910, founded on 

 the legislative experience of past years, should prove satisfactory to the 

 State as a whole. 



In the early days the scallop was not considered worthy of legisla- 

 tion, as it had no market value, and was generally considered as a 

 poisonous or non-edible shellfish. With the opening of the market 

 arose the necessity of regulating the fishery, and legislation of a restric- 

 tive character was enacted. 



Previous to 1874 the scallop came under the general acts included in 

 the term shellfish, with the clam, oyster and quahaug. The general 

 acts were of several kinds, (1) town regulation ; (2) permits; (3) seizure 

 in vessels; and (4) protection of the shellfisheries by limiting the catch, 

 place and time of taking. 



In 1874 occurs the first mention of the word scallop in a legislative 

 act " to regulate the shellfisheries in the waters of Mount Hope Bay 

 and its tributaries," whereby the selectmen of the towns bordering on 

 Mount Hope Bay were permitted to grant licenses for the cultivation 



