Nahant
Although Nahant has a large area of tidal flats, it is not on the whole favorably located, and much that would otherwise be available is necessarily waste. The territory which borders the western coast is not barren, but most of it is not productive enough to be profitable.
A few scattered sections repay the clammer for his labor, and from these sections perhaps 300 bushels a year are dug for home consumption. Four or five men are employed at intervals in the summer months, but no one of them depends upon this source of income for more than transient employment, as the entire value of the yearly harvest does not exceed $300. As there are nearly 250 acres of flats in Nahant, this would be a revenue of $1.60 per acre, on an average. However, this is not a fair comparison, for much of the territory apparently available is, as has been stated, properly waste. Nevertheless, an industry of far greater proportions than at present could be attained if wise legislation were directed to that end.
Summary of Industry.
| Number of men, | — |
| Capital invested, | — |
| Production, 1907:— | |
| Bushels, | 300 |
| Value, | $300 |
| Total area (acres):— | |
| Sand, | 50 |
| Mud, | 100 |
| Gravel, | 100 |
| Mussels and eel grass, | — |
| Total, | 250 |
| Productive area (acres):— | |
| Good clamming, | — |
| Scattering clams, | 50 |
| Barren area possibly productive (acres), | 150 |
| Waste barren area (acres), | 50 |
| Possible normal production, | $25,000 |