■ OF MASSACHUSETTS. 161 



Summary. — In the following summary the seacoast towns are ar- 

 ranged in geographical order from north to south. The number of 

 men includes both regular and intermittent clammers who dig for the 

 market; aU others are excluded. In determining the production of 

 any town it is impossible to obtain exactly correct figures, as the amount 

 dug for home consumption is an unestimable quantity, and the clams 

 are marketed in a number of ways, rendering it almost impossible to 

 get opmplete statistics. The production statistics have been obtained 

 in a variety of ways, and the final estimates have resulted from careful 

 consideration of all facts. The invested capital includes the clammer's 

 outfit and boat, but does not include personal apparel, such as boots and 

 oil skins. 



The clam fiats are divided into two main divisions: (1) productive; 

 and (2) barren. The barren areas are those where at present no clams 

 grow at all, not even scattering; and areas yielding even a few clams are 

 still considered productive flats, though to all practical purposes barren. 

 It was necessary to make the division thus, as otherwise no decisive line 

 could be drawn. The barren fiats are divided into those sections that 

 can be made productive and those that can never be made to grow 

 clams. The productive flats, on the other hand, are divided into areas 

 of good clamming and areas of scattering clams which do not support 

 a commercial fishery. The normal production of the clam flats has been 

 carefully estimated, in view of the previous experiments of the JPish 

 and Gaipe Commission, and the different classes of flats have each been 

 given a certain valuation in computing the total for each town. The 

 areas given of the clam flats are based upon calculations, as no engineer- 

 ing survey was made. 



The price of clams varies in different localities, and chiefly depends 

 upon the quality of clams and the method of marketing. In certain 

 towns clams are " shucked " (removed from the shell) , — a process 

 which greatly increases their market value; while in other places they 

 are sold only in the shell. These two facts account for the apparent 

 variation in the value of the production in different localities, as each 

 town is given its own market price. 



The following production table does not include an important factor, 

 — the amount of clams dug by the summer people. An unestimable 

 quantity is annually taken from the flats in this way, and is not 

 included in the production statistics. Indeed, summer people have 

 affected the clamming interests of several towns, as the selectmen have 

 refused to place closed seasons, etc., on certain depleted flats in order 

 to cater to the summer residents, who desire free clamming near their 

 cottages. The total number of licenses issued by the boards of health 

 of Boston and New Bedford for taking shellflsh in their respective 

 harbors are given as representing the number of clammers. In reality, 

 however, only a few of these licensees make a regular business of 

 clamming. 



