MAINE: WISCASSET DISTRICT. 



Detailed statement of tlie quaii/ities and raluts of the 2>rodncls Continued. 



67 



35. NEW CASTLE AND EDGECOMB. 



NEW CASTLE. New Castle is practically a part of Damariscotta, though it is on the opposite 

 side of the river and has a separate municipal government. The residents of the village, like those 

 of Damariscotta, engage to a greater or less extent in the smelt and eel fisheries of Damariscotta 

 Mills during the winter months. Two or three " hedges" have been placed in the river for the capture- 

 of alewives on their way to the spawning grounds, but these are fished to a limited extent only, 

 and the catch is very small. The supply offish is obtained largely from the towns at the moutli 

 of the river in summer, and from Portland, Boston, and Gloucester in winter. 



EDGECOMB. The town of Edgecomb, lying just north of Booth Bay, extends from the Shcep- 

 scott River on the west to the Damariscotta on the east. It has a population of 1,050, the majority 

 being engaged in agriculture. Two small fishing boats are owned in the town. These visit the 

 fishing grounds occasionally during the summer months and return with small fares of cod, hake, 

 and mackerel, which are peddled among the residents of the region, since there are neither fish 

 markets nor curing-stands in the town. A few of the inhabitants of the lower part of the town 

 lobster and clam to a limited extent, and a number of small weirs have been built along the banks 

 of both rivers for the capture of smelt and alewives, but the catch is so small that it may be wholly 

 neglected. 



30. BOOTH BAY AND ITS FISHERIES. 



EAST BOOTH BAY. East Booth Bay, locally known as Iloclgdou's Mills, is a little village in (lie 

 eastern part of the town of Booth Bay, at the mouth of the Damariscotta River. It has a fleet of 

 nine vessels. Eight of these are engaged in the shore and Bay of Fundy fisheries and one visits 



