86 THE MOLLUSK FISHERIES 



When the dredges are hauled in they are emptied on what is known 

 as a culling board. This board runs the width of the boat, projecting 

 slightly on both sides. It is 3 feet wide, and has a guide 3 inches 

 high along each side, leaving the ends open. The scallops are then 

 separated from the rubbish, such as seaweed, shells, mud, etc., while 

 the refuse and seed scallops are thrown- overboard by merely pushing 

 them ofE the end of the board. Each catch is culled out while the dredges 

 are being pulled along on the back "drift," and the board is again 

 clear for the next catch. The culled scallops are first put in buckets 

 and later transferred either to bushel bags or dumped into the cockpit 

 of the boat. 



Two men are usually required to tend from 6 to 8 dredges in a large 

 eat boat, but often one man alone does all the work. This seems to 

 be confined to localities, as at Nantucket nearly all the cat boats have 

 two men. At Edgartown the reverse is true, one man to the boat, 

 though in power dredging two men are always used. 



Several styles of dredges are used in scalloping, as each locality has 

 its own special kind, which is best adapted to the scalloping bottom 

 of that region. Four different styles are used in Massachusetts, two of 

 which permit a subdivision, making in all six different forms. Each 

 of these dredges is said by the scallopers using them to be the best; 

 but for all-round work the " scraper " seems the most popular. 



(1) The Chatham or Box Dredge. — As this dredge was first used in 

 Chatham, the name of the town was given to it, to distinguish it from 

 the other styles. At the present time its use is confined to Chatham and 

 the neighboring towns of the Cape. With the exception of a very few 

 used at Nantucket, it is not found elsewhere in Massachusetts. 



The style of the box dredge is peculiar, consisting of a rectangular 

 framework, 27 by 12 inches, of flat iron 1 by % inches, with an oval- 

 shaped iron bar extending back as a support for the netting bag, which 

 is attached to the rectangular frame. To the side of the rectangular 

 frame is attached a heavy iron chain about 4 feet long, to which is 

 fastened the drag rope. 



(2) The Scraper. — As can be seen by the illustration, this style 

 of dredge consists of a rigid iron frame of triangular shape, which 

 has a curve of nearly 90° at the base, to form the bowl of the dredge. 

 Above, a raised cross bar connects the two arms, while at the bottom 

 of the dredge a strip of iron 2 inches wide extends from arm to arm. 

 This strip acts as a scraping blade, and is set at an angle so as to dig 

 into the bottom. The top of the net is fastened to the raised cross bar 

 and the lower part to the blade. 



The usual dimensions of the dredge are: arms, 2% feet; upper 

 cross bar, 2 feet; blade, 2% feet. The net varies in size, usually 

 holding about a bushel of scallops, and running from 2 to 3 feet in 

 length. Additional weights can be put on the cross bar when the 



