In the following report various abuses of the present system of oyster culture will be enumerated, and it is only necessary to state that many evils must be eliminated before the oyster industry can obtain its maximum expansion. Such evils as town politics, disputes with quahaugers, etc., will have to be remedied. The greatest obstacle which now checks the oyster industry is the lack of protection. Until complete protection is given to the oysterman, the industry will never attain to its full development. The removal of the abuses by the organization of the oyster industry of the State under a unified system is the best way to secure proper regulation and improvement of the oyster industry.
The Natural Oyster Beds.
While there has been much discussion whether oysters were ever native in Massachusetts Bay, or merely the result of southern "plants," the consensus of opinion is that there were natural oyster beds in existence when the first settlers came to this coast. Not only do historical records show this, but the remains of the natural beds at the present time indicate that oysters have existed for centuries. Thus there seems to be no reasonable doubt that the northern coast of Massachusetts, as well as the southern, once possessed extensive natural oyster beds.
I. Location of the Natural Oyster Beds.—(1) Parker River.—A natural bed of oysters once existed in the Parker River at Newbury, and even fifty years ago it is said that oysters could still be obtained from this natural bed. About 1882 the experiment of fattening oysters for market was made, and many bushels were bedded on the flats during the summer by an oyster firm at Newbury. These oysters not only grew well, but threw considerable spawn, furnishing a good set in the river. Oyster raising was then tried, but the result was a failure, as the oysters which were planted in too shallow water were killed during the winter.
(2) Mystic and Charles Rivers.—Mr. Ernest Ingersoll states that: "In 1634 William Wood, in his 'New England's Prospect,' speaks of 'a great oyster bank' in Charles River, and another in the 'Mysticke,' each of which obstructed the navigation of its river." He locates the Charles River beds as either off Cambridgeport or near the site of the Boston Museum of Natural History.
Dr. G. W. Field, chairman of this department, in his report in 1902 as biologist to the Charles River Dam Commission, makes the following statement about the Charles River oyster:—
The oyster (Ostrea), formerly abundant, is no longer living, and, from what indications I have been able to gather, probably became extinct within twenty-five years. Their dead shells are brought up by dredging operations. Their peculiar elongated shape is the result of growth being concentrated at the upper end, as a result of their closely crowded position in the bed, or of an attempt to keep the opening above the accumulating mud, and thus avoid being smothered. The fact that there are few signs of small "seed oysters" tends to prove that the bottom was so muddy that they found few places to "set." From the elongated shape of the shells may be inferred that the amount of sedimentation going on in that particular region was rapid during the life of the group of oysters whose shells are to be found in quantities in the material dredged between Harvard and Brookline bridges. This sediment need not necessarily have been sand or clay, or any material which is persistent, but it might have been flocculent organic débris, which remained but a short time and left little or no evidence, beyond its effect upon the shape of the oyster shells.
In the above account Dr. Field not only locates the original oyster beds of Charles River, but also furnishes evidence which indicates the cause of their extinction, i.e., the débris and sewage, or waste poisonous, polluting materials, of a large city emptying into the river. This is not only true of the Charles, but also of the Mystic and Taunton river beds, which have been destroyed in like manner.
(3) Mr. Ernest Ingersoll, in his report on the "Oyster Industry of the United States," in 1880 mentions that natural oyster beds were once at Weymouth, Ipswich, Barnstable and Rowley. Nothing further can be learned concerning these places.
(4) Wellfleet.—An extensive oyster bed was found at Wellfleet Bay, which not only furnished a sufficient supply for the first settlers, but enabled the inhabitants of Wellfleet to carry on a considerable trade by shipping them to Boston and other ports, until it was finally destroyed in 1775. Its destruction was due to overfishing and the utilization of the shells for lime, which soon destroyed the natural bar.