The town laws merely require a permit from every clammer, for which no charge is made. Such permit is issued at the discretion of the selectmen, and requires of the recipient six months' residence in the town and two years in the State. In past years the town has made several by-laws for the protection of shellfish, chiefly in the nature of partial closed seasons; but unfortunately considerable difficulty has been found in enforcing these excellent laws, and the results have been far from satisfactory.
Ipswich has jealously guarded the rights of its clam flats, and has protected them in every way from the invasion of outsiders, which in part accounts for the excellent condition of these flats, which were originally deeded to the Commoners by the Crown, and from them to the town. Ipswich is the only town in the Commonwealth which has thus directly received its clam flats as its own property, and naturally has done more to improve its natural clam resources than any other town in the State.
The history of the industry shows little change; some few flats once considered worthless have been opened and utilized; others once productive have been dug out and allowed to become waste. On the whole, the industry is following the trend of the shellfisheries everywhere, and slowly but steadily declining.
Summary of Industry.
| Number of men, | 136 |
| Capital invested, | $7,500 |
| Production, 1907:— | |
| Bushels, | 25,000 |
| Value, | $18,750 |
| Total area (acres):— | |
| Sand, | 390 |
| Mud, | 500 |
| Gravel, | 55 |
| Mussels and eel grass, | 25 |
| Total, | 970 |
| Productive area (acres):— | |
| Good clamming, | 400 |
| Scattering clams, | 420 |
| Barren area possibly productive (acres), | 125 |
| Waste barren area (acres), | 25 |
| Possible normal production, | $200,000 |
Essex.
Essex, while still ranking as an important clam-producing town, has a very imperfect development of her shellfish resources. The total clam flat area comprises some 650 acres, and, though scarcely more than 25 acres can be considered as unfit for the growth of clams, and consequently barren, only a little more than half the remainder is at all productive, and of this probably less than 150 acres yields any financial return. In other words, 325 acres of good clam flat is allowed to remain practically barren.
The main type of soil is sand, and nearly 500 acres may be properly classed under this head. The remaining 150 acres are mud, and are located in the creeks along the river and in the coves north of Hog Island. The productive sections are scattered for the most part along both sides of the Essex River, and well-developed areas are also found at its mouth and on the Spit. There are several good locations of seed clams. One section of about 25 acres occurs on the west side of the Spit. This is composed of 1 to 2 inch clams, running 10 to 40 per square foot. At the mouth of the river on the north side occurs another set of ½-inch clams, covering about 10 acres. On the flats west of Cross Island is found a third set of ½ to 2 inch clams, comprising about 30 acres. Other smaller patches of set are scattered along the river almost up to its source.
About 50 men derive an income from these flats. Some $1,200 is invested, and the annual product exceeds 15,000 bushels, valued at $12,750.