348 GEOGEAPHICAL EEVIEW OF THE FISHEEIES. 



ried, with sixty persons dependent upon them. About $5,000 are invested in seed oysters, and 

 $2,500 represents the value of the boats and tools. One sloop of 15 tons and some skiffs and small 

 boats are used. All shipments go by boat. Last year 20,000 bushels of oysters were sent. Cox 

 Brothers also sent 1,000 barrels of hard and 250 barrels of soft clams to New York. There is no 

 fishing, except for sport. A trout pond of 5 acres, owned by the Glen Cove Starch Company, is 

 free to the public to fish from the shore, but not from boats. Some 2-pound trout are taken 

 here, and one of twice that weight is recorded. At Mattiuicock Point is a pond of 100 acres, which 

 can be made fresh or salt, owned by Mr. Charles A. Dana, of the New York Sun. This pond could 

 be utilized for fish or oyster culture. 



118. OYSTEE BAY. 



This bay is a famous locality for oysters, and notwithstanding the line between Queens and 

 Suffolk Counties strikes the bay at its eastern end, leaving Cold Spring on one side and the 

 remaining villages on the other, the same laws prevail. The oyster beds are leased by the towns 

 at 50 cents per acre, the number of acres being unlimited. Some oystermen object to this method 

 of leasing, and a few of the principal ones refuse to pay the rental, staking off their claims and 

 holding them by force. About three-fourths of the bay is staked off, and the greater portion is 

 planted. The seed is obtained at Bridgeport, Conn., at 25 cents per bushel, which counts out 

 about 5,000 oysters. It is not necessary to buy much when the spawn "sets" as it did this year 

 and last. A few shipments are made by rail, but most of the catch goes by boat. A few lots 

 have been packed for Europe. Soft clams are more plenty here than in the more western bays, 

 but hard clams are not as abundant. Menhaden are taken in the spring of the year in seines for 

 manure ; about $5,000 w.orth were secured last spring. Many flounders are also taken for local 

 consumption. Every few years there is a good crop of scallops; this year great quantities about 

 the size of a quarter dollar may be seen; if these do not " winter-kill" there will undoubtedly be an 

 immense crop next year. The fishermen tell me that a few scallops may be found at any time, 

 but they are not always sufficiently abundant to render the fishing profitable. They say that the 

 young in the first stages cling to the eel-grass until their weight bends the grass down or breaks 

 it, when they drift out of the bay with the grass which goes out in the fall. Last spring the grass 

 came in and brought young scallops, which they claim accounts for the quantity of young ones 

 this year. There has not been a good crop in six years. A few terrapins were formerly taken, 

 but not many are found of late. Not many crabs are caught. No fish are sent to market. 



LOCUST VALLEY. This is the terminus of one branch of the railroad, but there is no fishing 

 here, as all of the fishermen of the region live on Oak Neck, at Bayville. One hundred and fifty 

 barrels of oysters, 159 barrels of hard clams, and 66 bushels of soft clams in shell were sent by 

 rail last year. 



BAYVTLLE. Here we find a population of four hundred depending entirely on the fisheries; 

 one hundred and thirty men are actively engaged, of whom seventy-five are married. About eighty 

 women are frequently employed in opening soft clams and oysters. Mr. William E. Bell, post- 

 master, storekeeper, and oyster planter, estimates the average yearly revenue to be from $20,000 

 to $30,000, claiming that it sometimes reaches $50,000, $15,000 of which is from oysters. Thirteen 

 sloops, of from 10 to 30 tons each, are employed; they are worth, on an average, about $1,000 each. 

 Four small cat-boats, worth $100 each, and one hundred small row-boats are also employed. About 

 $60,000 are invested in oyster beds. Most of the oysters go to New York and Connecticut by sail, 

 steamer, and rail; a few are sent to Europe. James E. Ellison says that 500 bushels of hard and 

 soft clams go from here each week; he sends 1,100 bushels of soft clams yearly, and from 300 to 500 



