144 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



In addition to the gill-uet fishery, a number of shad are taken on the 

 Edisto by means of small seines and bow nets. In 189G there was 1 

 seine operated about 10 miles below Jacksouboro and 8 between that 

 station and Branch ville. These seines are 35 to 70 yards long, 3- inch 

 mesh, of No. 9 cotton, and worth on an average from $30 to $45 each. 

 Their catch of shad numbered 2,040, of which 1,080 were bucks. In 

 addition to these, a quantity of hickory shad, striped bass, bream, 

 perch, herring, etc., were taken. Above Branchville 3 seines were used, 

 taking 594 shad in 1896. Hickory shad are caught in considerable 

 numbers at Gibham Ferry and at other points below Branchville, but 

 above that village none are reported. 



Bow nets are used by the native planters and woodsmen all along the 

 river from the mouth to the upper limits of Orangeburg County. In 

 1896 83 were used, by means of which 3,672 shad and 500 hickories were 

 taken, the shad selling at 20 to 40 cents each and the hickories at 5 

 and 10 cents each. This fishery is carried on generally at night, begin- 

 ning between 7 and 10 o'clock. Some of the catch is sent to Columbia, 

 but the greater proportion is sold for local use. 



CHARLESTON HARBOR AND TRIBUTARIES. 



Between the Edisto and Santee rivers are several streams having 

 a common outlet at Charleston, the most important being Cooper, 

 Ashley, and Wando, each of wbich is small and navigable only for 

 short distances from Charleston. A few shad ascend each of these 

 rivers, but the fisheries are extremely local and limited in extent. Near 

 Monks Corner, at the entrance of the Santee Canal into the west branch 

 of Cooper River, and at several other places on the same river a few 

 shad are taken each year by bow nets, pump nets, gill nets, and seines. 

 In 1896 the total number of shad taken on that stream was 396, of 

 which 216 were caught by pump nets, 80 by bow nets, and the remain- 

 der by means of gill nets and seines. 



The pump net resembles the bow net somewhat in the principle of 

 its opeiatiou, and it is also similar to the contrivances operated from 

 the piers at Chicago. A pole 20 feet long, having suspended from its 

 outer end a pair of cross sticks, to which is fastened a net 10 feet 

 square and with 2^-inch mesli, is "pumped," like a well sweep, on a 

 forked post fixed on the bank of the river. 



A few shad are taken in the East Branch of Cooper Eiver and in the 

 lower section of tlie Wando and Ashley, but the catch is so small as 

 to not warrant an extended investigation in those streams. 



SANTEE RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES. 



The Santee is formed by the junction of the Congaree and Wateree 

 at a distance from the ocean of 90 miles in a straight line, but, follow- 

 ing the sinuosities of the stream, a distance of 184 miles. The river is 

 navigable its entire length, the width at low water varying from 200 

 to 500 feet, and the fall being less than half a foot per mile. There are 



