OF MASSACHUSETTS. 141 



In 1773 : — 



That, inasmuch as the oyster fishery, which is of great value to the town 

 and of great advantage to the Province, has received detriment from per- 

 sons taking young oysters, the enactment of more stringent regulations are 

 necessary to prevent their destruction. 



These early laws show that the natural oyster beds were highly prized 

 by the inhabitants in colonial days, and that measures, even then, were 

 necessary to prevent their extinction. At the present time Wellfleet 

 has no other regulations than the general oyster laws of the Common- 

 wealth. 



The history of the oyster industry of Wellfleet can be divided into 

 three periods: (1) the natural oyster fishery; (2) the "bedding" of 

 southern oysters; (3) oyster planting. 



(1) The Natural Oyster Beds of Wellfleet. — The first settlers found 

 a natural oyster bed near Hitchin's Creek, or Silver Spring, in 1644, 

 and it is said that oysters were very abundant at that time. Old 

 shells are occasionally dredged or raked up at the present day from 

 these beds. The Rev. Enoch Pratt, in his " History of Eastham, Well- 

 fleet and Orleans," gives the following account of this early oyster 

 industry : — 



Oysters were found in great abundance on the flats at the first settle- 

 ment [1644], but at this time [1770] the inhabitants had so increased and 

 such quantities were taken for consumption and for the Boston market, 

 that it became necessary, to prevent their entire destruction, for the dis- 

 trict to take measures to preserve and propagate them. . . . Shops and 

 stands were opened in Boston, Salem, Portland and other places, where 

 the oysters were sold in quantities to suit the purchaser. 



In 1775 all the oysters in the bay died. What caused their destruction 

 is not certainly known, but it is supposed that as, at this time, a large 

 number of blackfish died and came on shore, where their carcasses remained, 

 producing a very filthy condition of the water, it caused this mortality. 



A more probable explanation is given by Mr. E. P. Cook of Wellfleet. 

 The early inhabitants, not knowing the value of the natural shell beds 

 for catching the spat, greedily took every shell and burned them into 

 lime as a fertilizer for their farms and plaster for their houses. There 

 was once a fine strip of woods near this original oyster rock, but this 

 was cut down, and the sand gradually washed over the beds, killing 

 the young oysters. To these two causes can be attributed the final de- 

 struction of the natural beds in 1775. 



(2) The Bedding of Southern Oysters. — After the destruction of 

 the natural beds, an important industry arose in the " bedding " of 

 southern oysters for northern trade. Privileges for bedding oysters 

 on the flats were granted to a number of oyster firms. These men 

 hired schooners in the latter part of the winter or the early spring, 

 which went to the southern oyster grounds and brought back loads 



