Plymouth
The clam industry at Plymouth is at a low ebb. The same problems which baffle progress at Duxbury and Kingston are present here with all their complications. The combined available territory, exceeding 1,600 acres, save for a few unimportant sections, is wholly barren. While it is true that fully two-thirds of this great area is eel-grass waste, and in its present state of little value for the production of clams, there remains over 500 acres of good flats, for the most part sand well adapted for shellfish culture. It is certain that a flourishing industry has existed here in former times. From the earliest history of the colony, records tell of the excellent clam flats at Plymouth; and we learn that the Pilgrims during the darkest hours of the early settlement depended in large measure upon these flats for support. As late as 1879 Ernest Ingersoll reports an annual output of 5,000 bushels of clams, and states that the industry had then greatly declined. It appears to have gone down steadily ever since, until now it merely furnishes transient employment to 4 or 5 men, who dig at rather uncertain intervals for local markets.
The best clamming, probably because the most inaccessible, is around Clark’s Island. Scattering clams occur on Wind flat, the Oyster grant, and in patches along the shore. But no considerable extent of good clamming occurs anywhere, and the bulk of the territory is wholly barren.
The town of Plymouth has endeavored in several ways to develop the industry. It has appropriated money to restock the flats, a close season has been tried, and an attempt made to solve the problem by the giving of private grants. While these grants have not always been run in as energetic a manner as could be desired, the experiment has proved conclusively that there are great possibilities in such a system. In short, there can be little doubt that in the proper administration of private grants lies the key to the solution of the problem which confronts this whole region. As clams were once abundant in Plymouth harbor, and as no apparent causes other than excessive digging appear to have brought about the decline, there seems to be no logical reason why this amount of territory (500 acres) should not yield its proper harvest. As for the vast extent of eel-grass flats, with all their undetermined possibilities, they can well afford to wait until the more immediate and pressing problems of the flats already available for clam culture have been solved.
Comparison of 1907 with 1879.
| YEAR. | Production (Bushels). | Value. |
|---|---|---|
| 1879, | 5,000 | $2,500 |
| 1907, | 3,000 | 2,500 |
Summary of Industry.
| Number of men, | 6 |
| Capital invested, | $60 |
| Value of shore property, | — |
| Production, 1907:— | |
| Bushels, | 3,000 |
| Value, | $2,500 |
| Total area (acres):— | |
| Sand, | 400 |
| Mud, | 100 |
| Gravel, | — |
| Mussels and eel grass, | 1,100 |
| Total, | 1,600 |
| Productive area (acres):— | |
| Good clamming, | 10 |
| Scattering clams, | 50 |
| Barren area possibly productive (acres), | 440 |
| Waste barren area (acres), | 1,100 |
| Possible normal production, | $58,000 |