NEW JEESEY: SOUTHERN COAST. 399 



is not so extensive in the winter on account of the ice in the bays and the limited demand for 

 clams in the markets, where oysters are usually preferred. 



The only methods in use in this district are "treading" and "tongiug," the latter being the 

 more common. Treadiug is said to have originated with the Tuckerton fishermen, and to have 

 been introduced by them into other States, both North and South. The claminers work but a few 

 hours in a day. They usually go out at "half-ebb" and return at or before "quarter-flood," thus 

 fishing only during the four or five hours of low water. The average fisherman will "tong" from 

 1,000 to 1,200 clams in a day, but 4,000 to 5,000 have been frequently taken. The total value of 

 the clams taken in this district is over $117,000 yearly. The catch is usually bought by the 

 captains of small vessels at from $1.25 to $2 per thousand and carried to the "New York and 

 Philadelphia markets; but at times the captains merely "freight" and sell the clams, receiving 

 one-third of the gross sales for their services. Many are also shipped by rail to these markets and 

 to the other cities of the interior. 



Soft clams (Nya arenaria) are quite plenty, but they are used chiefly for bait, and only to a, 

 limited extent for food, by the fishermen of the region. None are dug for shipment to the larger 

 markets. 



THE CRAB-FISHERIES. The crab fisheries are of little importance; and though soft crabs are 

 very abundant in most localities, the people have not yet learned that good wages cau be made in 

 catching and shipping them. The principal fishing is by boys and men to supply the line fishermen 

 and visitors with bait. Many are also taken and sold to the hotels at Beach Haven, Atlantic City, 

 and Cape May; though, on account of the small size of the crabs, many of the hotels get their 

 supply from a distance. 



Hard crabs have little value, except for bait, and none are now shipped from the district. An 

 attempt was made several years ago by the fishermen of Tuckerton to establish a winter fishery 

 for the species, but it proved unprofitable. The method of fishing was a novel one. At the 

 approach of cold weather the crabs bed in the mud, where they remain (ill spring, and for this 

 reason they cannot be taken in the ordinary way during the winter months. The fishermen visited 

 these bedding places in boats, and took the crabs out of the mud with clam and oyster tongs. 

 This is the only instance known to us where crabs have been taken for market in this manner. 



At Atlantic City crabbing is a favorite pastime for the visitors, and from twenty to thirty men 

 and boys are engaged in taking pleasure parties out to engage in this fishery. On any pleasant 

 day during the summer season from fifty to one hundred people may be seen engaged in crabbing, 

 and it is now considered by many as better sport than fishing or sailing. Part of the catch is used 

 for bait by the line-fishermen. 



FEW TERRAPIN TAKEN. Terrapin, though not abundant, are occasionally taken by the fisher- 

 men during the late summer, and after they have bedded in the mud for the winter. They are 

 usually found on the flats, but not in sufficient numbers to warrant any extended fishery. No traps, 

 dredges, or seines are used in their capture. 



THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. At various points from Barnegat to Atlantic City and Lake's Bay, 

 on the ocean side of New Jersey, and at Maurice Cove, on the shores of Delcware Bay, the oyster 

 industry is important. Mr. Ingersoll fully discusses this industry in his special report; concerning 

 the abundance of oysters along the Jersey shores of the bay, he says: 



" The center of the present oyster industry in the Delaware Bay acd River, on the New Jersey 

 shore, is at Maurice Cove, in Cumberland County, which is reached by the Cumberland and Mau- 

 rice River Railroad from Bridgetou. This shore is bordered all the way by extensive marshes, 

 through which innumerable small creeks find their way from the interior, and which contain many 



