NEW -YORK: EASTERN END OF LONG ISLAND. 355 



They have 12 acres of ground, but ouly 1 was planted, as an experiment. Of fresh fish, 100,(i(io 

 pounds were taken last year; 1,975 pounds were shipped by rail, 800 pounds by boat, and the 

 remainder was consumed at home. The fish are taken in seines and fykes, in which 8400 are 

 invested. Flatfish constituted the bulk of the catch. Three years ago a few shad were caught 

 here, and if it were not for the dam it is possible that shad might become colonized in the river, 

 as these places arc suitable for spawning grounds. There is fresh water for half a mile below the 

 village at low tide, and at high tide it is brackish up to the ship-yard. Charles II. Homer has 

 been engaged in the menhaden fisheries, but he claims the business is so poor now that he is 

 obliged to fish for eels and clams, along with twelve others. Clamming for hard clams was good 

 last spring, but it has uot been remunerative this fall. The season lasts from March to October, 

 and two men average 50 bushels each per month; the others get less. Clams are sold at $1 p.r 

 bushel to peddlers, who take them in wagons to other places. The year's catch amounted to 2,500 

 bushels. The soft clams were nearly destroyed a few years ago, but they arc increasing again. 

 The present catch is 100 bushels annually. But few scallops are taken here, as on account of the 

 shallow water and its freshness, the river and the head of the bay close early. 



Eels are taken both by ' firelight" (spear) and pots. The former method is practiced during 

 July, August, and September, and the latter during the rest of the year. Charles H. Homer 

 makes the pots, which are 18 inches long by 12 inches in diameter, of pine strips woven into 

 baskets. After dyeing them with logwood to make them less conspicuous, he sells them to the 

 fishermen at GO cents apiece. They are baited with "mummies" (minnows) in the early spring, 

 but when the "horsefeet" (Limulus polyplicmus] u crawl," in May, these are used in preference. 

 About 2,500 pounds of eels were taken last year; of these, 1,740 pounds were shipped by rail to the 

 larger markets, and the rest were consumed locally. 



It is claimed here that Sylvester Petty, of Franklinville, invented the purse-net for taking- 

 menhaden. The old way was to take them in gill or "fly" nets. The menhaden steamers George 

 Hudson and Nat. Strong are owned here. They cost 815,000 each, fully equipped with seines and, 

 boats. The boats cost 8100 and the nets $500 each. The men in the menhaden fishery pay their 

 own expenses, receiving a definite share in the catch, while the captains get an additional amount, 

 usually a percentage of the gross stock, or so much per barrel for the fish landed. 



JAMESPORT. Sixteen men take scallops and clams in this vicinity, and eleven women and 

 fifty children are employed in opening these bivalves. About ninety people depend in part on 

 the business, equal to about forty people entirely dependent. About $7,000 are invested in 

 boats and houses. The scallop fishery is described more fully under the town of New Suffolk. 

 There are eight boats here, aggregating 30 tons; 8,500 pounds of scallops were taken during the 

 season, of which 2,080 pounds were shipped by rail, and 3,000 pounds went by boat. Of the 

 remainder, 1,500 pounds were sold to peddlers, and the rest were consumed locally; 2,000 bushels 

 of hard clams and 500 bushels of soft clams were taken. A pound-net here, valued at 8300, is 

 estimated to take about 20,000 pounds of fresh fish during the year. 



FRANKLINVILLE. Four men from this town live by fishing. They have about 81,500 invested 

 in boats, and nearly 8500 more in nets; 8,000 pounds of scallops and 25,000 pounds of fish were 

 taken. Nearly all of the latter were shipped by rail to New York. 



MATTITUCK. Five residents of this place are fishermen. Three of them are married, and 

 eighteen persons are dependent upon them. Three women and fourteen children arc employed in 

 opening scallops during the season. There are three fishing boats, aggregating 14 tons. A 

 capital of $3,000 is invested in boats and buildings for the scallop industry; 18,000 pounds were 



