\ 
8 CRAB INDUSTRY OF CHESAPEAKE BAY. 
LicENSED CRABBERS AND DEALERS IN MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA, 1916-17—Contd. 





VIRGINIA. 
Licensed crabbers. 
Counties. Dip net, Dealers. 
tr celine: Dredge. | Total. 
scrape. 
Number. | Number. | Number. | Number. 
IEE EO SRS = bacgade sac ab Sm Seo Dee One ae anno so Sse sopSeoonr ec Sace ANO) SN oeesncene 409 ai13 
Northumberland iste. - 2...:. Jetene sect ce venta rene eeeee ee oeee ae 2008 Bt Seeesee 200" !vcniateemae 
Wize beth Cityiee-eee ot no- = c e eeeseoe aoe nen eee 59 57 116 16 
Te ah eee eee mecin sis See tisos Siam oh scuici esis ccmasion Mee mele 78 18 06: | [22 eee 
IN OFIOLESS = Sarees See ee cee cis Sesleri eee cee esate merce 59 1 60 ll 
Mancaster.csen: eens 3 os ete <6 hee Soe ec ee Scere 5d. aseewonts 5d: (eee aeeeeee 
Mathewss act ta. samt ce state ces SG. esses bbe enc obs ea 40 6 46-15... heees2 
sWiestmorelanidi: so) 4 os-Aeh ch haaee naps sccee ase ose <s'e e ch eee 44 |. eee 
Middlesex 2. = cnc sacscemiasitcec cin ec eesce asm aemnecie emaece SO Same cee 30) \| oceeeeeee 
ING ATEN} 5 Seo codec gw sane acmosessoet Goss does asonosec45= 37 1 38 b2 
(IOTICESECIa = aac tes ale aetna a eet eee Ph) eae aso 29) ||: sae 
LG TG eo ca eeoonpwipe sscicosenocesmmonsoaneascecscr etic 19} eee 19 c2 
Princess'AnmNe 5-2 /5~= <1 o.- eases a ceene Bee Sees een ere Oy -Ree Sees Stladees. see 
Isle of Wight.......------22 22-2. 020 -n ene seen s snes scee ee seneee HN Bascod=see 1 EE es oe 
Notal: 4-<bietduceoss Sse ee <akseemeds ode esses 1,055 &3 1,138 49 



a Also one at Franklin City, on the ocean side. 
b There is 1 crab house at Willis Wharf, Va., on the ocean side, outside the scope of this report. 
c Both are located at Westpoint, just over the line in King William County. 
The relative importance of the different regions of the bay to the 
crabbing industry is worthy of discussion insome detail. For thesake 
of convenience, the county will be taken as the geographical unit. The 
tidewater counties of the Eastern Shore, beginning with the most 
southerly, will be considered first. The treatment of the counties of 
the western shore, beginning at the north, will then follow. It must 
be borne in mind that all figures showing the number of crabbers 
and crab houses are for the years 1916-17. 
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, VA. 
There are in this county 37 crabbers, 1 dredge boat, and 2 crab 
houses, both located at Cape Charles City. No meat is picked out 
at these houses, but about 10,000 bartels of crabs are bought and 
shipped each year. During the winter they handle a portion of the 
dredge-boat catch of the southern part of the bay, shipping largely to 
Crisfield by the New York, Philadicinhis & Norfolk Railroad. In this 
way the dealers of Crisfield are brought into competition with those 
of Norfolk and Hampton for the dredge-boat catch. Dredging is car- 
ried on during the winter months throughout the whole of the lower 
part of the bay, from the capes to about the latitude of the northern 
end of this county on the Eastern Shore, and the northern extremity of 
Mathews County, Va., on the western shore. The deeper waters of 
this part of the a afford a fine field for dredging operations during 
the winter, since the crabs migrate in great numbers to this region in 
the fall and lie on the bottoms until spring. 
The trot-line crabbers of the county work largely in the coves and 
creeks of the western side and sell to the firms at Cape Charles or haul 
their catch inland to stations on the New York, Philadelphia & Nor- 
folk Railroad and ship directly to northerly points. There is no soft- 
