78 



THE MOLLUSK FISHERIES 



The rake employed at Wellfleet is described by Mr. True as similar in form 

 to an oyster rake, but made of steel instead of iron. In former days this 

 instrument was of iron, the tips of the teeth only being of steel. An 

 average rake has seventeen teeth, and weighs about 12 pounds. The handle 

 or tail is of wood, and is about 23 feet long. The baskets in which the 

 quahaugs are collected and measured are of ordinary manufacture, and hold 

 about a bushel each ; and the whole outfit of a quahaug fisherman does 

 not cost over $150, and the total amount of capital invested in apparatus 

 at the present time in Wellfleet does not exceed $800. This amount is 

 about evenly divided between 5 men, none of whom are engaged in this 

 fishery more than a part of their time. 



Quahaugs are sent to market always in the shell, and packed in second- 

 hand flour or sugar barrels. The wholesale price of quahaugs for many years 

 averaged 60 cents per bushel, but in 1879 it feU to 55 cents. One dollar 

 and seventy-five cents is the average wholesale price per barrel. Quahaugs 

 retail in Wellfleet at 80 cents per bushel. The usual method of transporta- 

 tion is by packet, at a cost of 25 cents per barrel.' 



From the account of Mr. Ingersoll the above table has been formu- 

 lated, showing the vast increase in the quahaug business of Wellfleet 

 since 1879, as well as certain changes in the industry. This by no means 

 proves that the quahaug industry is on the increase; it merely shows 

 that it has taken a tremendous development since 1879, and the fact 

 that the quahaug industry of Wellfleet has passed its maximum produc- 

 tion a few years ago and is now on the decline should not be overlooked 

 in consulting this table, which otherwise would give an erroneous 

 impression. The changing of the quahaug grounds from shallow to 

 deeper water alone is a sign of the decline of the industry. The qua- 

 haug industry has developed to its present extent only since 1894, and is 



' " The Oyster, Scallop, Clara, Mussel and Abalone Industries," by Ernest Ingersoll. 

 United States Fish Commission Report, Section V., Vol. 2, p. 603. 



