Summary of Industry.
| Number of men, | 5 |
| Capital invested, | $40 |
| Value of shore property, | — |
| Production, 1907:— | |
| Bushels, | 600 |
| Value, | $500 |
| Total area (acres):— | |
| Sand, | 25 |
| Mud, | 15 |
| Gravel, | 10 |
| Mussels and eel grass, | — |
| Total, | 50 |
| Productive area (acres):— | |
| Good clamming, | 5 |
| Scattering clams, | 10 |
| Barren area possibly productive (acres), | 25 |
| Waste barren area (acres), | 10 |
| Possible normal production, | $6,000 |
Orleans.
Orleans is one of the few towns in the State which shows an advance in the clam industry. This is largely due to an increased production on the rich flats of Nauset harbor, as the remaining available territory in the town is declining in value. The output of 1907 is an increase of nearly 40 per cent. over the yield of the previous year, which shows an encouraging development.
The clam flat area of the town is divided into four rather distinct divisions, three on the east or Atlantic side and one on the Bay or western side. The grounds which have been dug for the longest time and yielded uniformly the best results lie in the waters of Town Cove. Here a strip of gravelly sand and mud about 30 feet wide extends along the shores of this cove for 2 or 3 miles. Clams are scattered throughout this strip, and are dug constantly.
The second division includes the bars of Nauset harbor, which at present furnish the best digging in town. The increased value of the town's industry is largely due to the recent development of these flats. Clams have seeded in abundantly during the past two or three years, and now furnish very good digging.
The third section comprises that portion of the clam flat area bordering the coast of Pleasant Bay which crosses the town boundaries on the southeast. Here clams are rather scarce, though dug occasionally. This section is economically the least important of the four.
The fourth section extends along the western coast, on a belt of sand bars well out in Cape Cod Bay. Clams are found on a strip about a quarter of a mile in width, and lying over half a mile from shore. This is a very exposed location. Billingsgate Point, projecting out from the Wellfleet coast, offers some protection from northwest winds, and the hills of the Cape break the force of the easterly gales; but the full force of storms from the west and southwest sweeps these bars, and would seem to render them unsuitable for the growth of clams. Clams are here, however, in considerable numbers, though not so numerous as three or four years ago, and are dug to some extent.
The greater part of the digging is done by intermittent clammers, who obtain perhaps 2½ bushels per day. No permits are required, as there are no town by-laws regulating the industry.
Summary of Industry.