334 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
practically the entire catch was sent to Few York, but of late, owing to the close prox- 
imity of Boston and the creation of a more steady demand, the bulk of the yield has i 
been shipped to that place during the colder months. During the open season at Bar 
Harbor and other fashionable resorts on the island, nearly all the scallops taken in 
that region find a ready local sale. The output of Little Deer Isle is mostly sent to Few j 
York and Philadelphia. Boothbay and the other towns and settlements on or adjacent | 
to the Sheepscot River receive a large part of the catch of that stream, the shipments 
to distant places being limited. 
19.— PEICES. 
Although the prices received for scallops at the beginning of the fisheries have 
not been maintained, they have not declined so materially as to prevent the profitable 
prosecution of the fishery at the present time ; and it seems probable that with the 
growing demand for the mollusk the prices are not destined to reach any lower basis 
than the average for the past three years. 
At the inception of the fishery, the scallop meats often sold for $2.50 or more per 
gallon. As the supply increased the prices dropped and at times have reached the 
low figure of 25 cents per gallon. The average value to the fishermen during the 
years 1887-89 was between 50 and 75 cents, although not infrequently $1 and $1.25 
have been obtained. 
The prices naturally vary with the supply and the demand and the state of pres- 
ervation in which the scallops reach market. 
Mr. F. F. Dimick, the secretary of the Boston Fish Bureau, states that there has 
been little if any variation in the average prices of Maine scallops in the Boston fish 
market in the past two or three years, during which time the wholesale value ranged 
from 50 cents to $1.25 per gallon. 
Regarding the relative value of the giant scallop and the small species taken in 
Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Mr. Dimick finds that in Boston the Rhode Island 
stock is the most highly esteemed, while the scallops from Cape Cod rank next, fol- 
lowed by the Maine species. The ruling prices received by the fishermen for the 
Rhode Island goods are from 75 cents to $1 per gallon, and by the wholesale mer- 
chants from $1 to $1.50. The scallops from Cape Cod bring 50 cents to $1 at first 
hands and 75 cents to $1.25 at wholesale. 
F.— STATISTICS OF THE FISHERY. 
20 . — Table of persons employed. 
Locality. 
1887. 
1888. 
1889. 
Mount Desert 
4 
7 
7 
Treinont 
34 
23 
16 
Little Deer Isle 
26 
42 
44 
2 
2 
Cape Rosier 
31 
31 
36 
Castine 
36 
22 
28 
Sheepscot River 
33 
48 
64 
Total 
164 
175 
197 
