| YEAR. | Production (Bushels). | Value. | Men. | Capital. | Price per Bushel. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1879, | 28,800 | $11,520 | 60 | $750 | $0.40 |
| 1907, | 70,500 | 77,500 | 241 | 3,325 | 1.10 |
Summary of Industry.
| Number of men, | 175 |
| Capital invested, | $2,700 |
| Production, 1907:— | |
| Bushels, | 55,500 |
| Value, | $61,000 |
| Total area (acres):— | |
| Sand, | 150 |
| Mud, | 930 |
| Gravel, | — |
| Mussels and eel grass, | — |
| Total, | 1,080 |
| Productive area (acres):— | |
| Good clamming, | 800 |
| Scattering clams, | 280 |
| Barren area possibly productive (acres), | — |
| Waste barren area (acres), | — |
| Possible normal production, | $250,000 |
Newbury.
The town of Newbury has in itself no shellfish industry, although there is an extensive area of suitable flats which are worked with equal rights by the Newburyport clammers. These flats comprise some 360 acres, and extend along both sides of Plum Island Sound and Parker River. Over 100 acres of scattering clams occur, though not in sufficient quantities for the most part to make very profitable digging. The remainder, some 260 acres, though almost all suitable for the production of large quantities of clams, is practically barren.
The principal type of soil is mud, and the mud flats comprise about 250 acres. The flats of Parker River and those in its immediate neighborhood, however, are largely sand, and altogether they aggregate about 110 acres. Of these, "the thoroughfare" is practically the only one which furnishes clams in any quantity. Sections of the broad flats which border on Plum Island Sound produce scattering clams of large size. There is, however, no very good digging in town, and no consistent effort seems ever to have been made to utilize the great wealth which lies dormant in the clam flat territory. Six Newbury men dig intermittently in the summer, and furnish some 300 bushels, worth about $250, for town trade. However, this does not take into consideration the amount taken from these flats by the Newburyport clammers.
Summary of Industry.
| Number of men, | 6 |
| Capital invested, | $75 |
| Production, 1907:— | |
| Bushels, | 300 |
| Value, | $250 |
| Total area (acres):— | |
| Sand, | 110 |
| Mud, | 250 |
| Gravel, | — |
| Mussels and eel grass, | — |
| Total, | 360 |
| Productive area (acres):— | |
| Good clamming, | — |
| Scattering clams, | 100 |
| Barren area possibly productive (acres), | 260 |
| Waste barren area (acres), | — |
| Possible normal production, | $40,000 |