The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1900-11-08
Oyster and Clam Farming.

An oyster and clam bed has points of
advantage over gold mine and far
sighted persons who look to the general
interest believe it would be well to
promote the planting of these succulent
bivalves in favored spots where none
are now growing.
The Baltimore Trade, which speaks
for the oyster canning interests, says:
1--WE do not thil k it is putting it too
Strongly to say that no other property
in the United States is Of equal
natural value with the oyster beds of
Chesapeake bay. 1t is also true that
there is no industry or property value
in the United States that is so much
neglected and injured as those same
oyster beds. Even the great CONSOLE
dated Virginia Mine, which has proved
in modern times wonder OF the world,
lacks a quality which the Chesapeake
oyster beds possess. We mean the abil-
ity OF recuperation.
"a gold mine, no matter how valu-
able. may be exhausted, and even if it
is not. it becomes steadily more costly
to bring the ore to the surface as the
burrowing is done deeper and deeper
into the bowels Of the earth. The
oyster. on the other hand, if given the
will restock and replenish the beds in
manner that is astonishing. and which
returns such an immense percentage OF
value annually that it is difficult to
| compute it.
1T is this remarkable quality of the
oyster itself, the silent and shiftless
worker creating values steadily for the
general owners, that is being most OF
all overlooked by those who are most
interested in observing it. The oyster
harvest of the Chesapeake bay, as that
harvest comes to this city, OF through
its merchants or packers, instead of be-
ing only about 100000 bushels, as it
was last season, should be nearer So
600, OOO,'
TO which we will add that clam farm
ing comes next to that of oyster farm
; ing. 1t is true that the price received
from oysters is much more than CLANS,
but we believe this is offset to a great
extent as clam farming is not near so
expensive as that of oysters. The eX-
pertinent has been made within the past
two years on the marsh at Jones Greek,
AnnlSQuam river, where an acre OF
marsh land was prepared for clam farm
ing, and the seed sown in the most APP
proved manner. A guard house was
built and the premises have been thor
oughly guarded at the time when it was
possible for any one to interfere with
the bivalves. The beds have been
opened recently and fine crop is as
sured; so satisfactory has been the Re
suit, that it is proposed by the expert
mentors to put still larger tract under
cultivation.
Only let the CLANS alone and give
ri, 70 Inv
them remain in their BEDS and like the
oyster, they will give an abundant yield.
The trouble with the clam crop, here
abouts, is that the mud flats have been
dug over and over again. and in conse-
! quence, the CLANS have been almost ex-
terminated, and have no chance to re-
cuperate.
We proved this to our entire satisfac-
ton one afternoon this summer while
down cruising ON 'Squam river We
took a clam fork and basket along as
we were wont to do in the days agone,
when there was no trouble in getting a
basket full at any one of the digging
places. We tried it Oh this occasion,
and were bound, if 1T took the whole
afternoon, to get sufficient for a mess.
We dug and dug, here and there and
after some two hours digging had the
satisfaction Of getting peck basket of
CLAIMS. We had got them heretofore in
twenty minutes.
This proved the fact that the banks
had been dug out and the proper thing
to do was to give them a rest, OF what
would be still better, let the right par
ties secure suitable places along the
river and go into clam farming. They
would have to wait while for returns,
but when they did begin to come in it
would pay good dividends, and prove
that clam farming as we'll as oyster
farming, was worthy of attention. lCape
Ann Advertiser