10 CRAB INDUSTRY OF CHESAPEAKE BAY. 
WICOMICO COUNTY, -MD. 
This county has 6 crabbers, but no crab houses. The crabbing 
grounds are the mouths of the Wicomico and the Nanticoke Rivers 
and the catch goes to Deal Island. 
DORCHESTER COUNTY, MD. 
There are in this county 729 crabbers and 21 crab houses, the pro- 
prietors of the most of which are engaged in shedding out soft crabs. 
Those in the southern part send most of their product to Deal Island, 
though afew ship from Wingate, on the Honga River, as the Baltimore 
boat touches there. Those at the north, on the Little Choptank and 
the Choptank Rivers, ship to Cambridge, in Dorchester County, and 
to Oxford and Bellevue, in Talbot County. There is one picking 
house, which closes in the winter. 
TALBOT COUNTY, MD. 
This county has 312 crabbers and 20 crab houses. The crabbing 
grounds are in the coves of the mouth of the Choptank River at the 
south and Eastern Bay and its tributaries on the north. The houses 
are located on these waters; on the south the shipping points are 
Oxford, Bellevue, Neavitt, and Tilghman. Five packing houses are 
located at Oxford and one at Bellevue. None of these operate during 
the winter. The town of Oxford stands second in Maryland in the 
amount of crab meat picked out, being exceeded in this respect 
only by Crisfield. The shipping points on Eastern Bay are Claiborne 
and St. Michaels, 3 picking houses being located at the latter point, 
none of which operate during the winter. The Baltimore, Chesapeake 
& Atlantic Railroad from these points connects by ferry with Balti- 
more. One crabber in this county was using the scrape in 1916. 
QUEEN ANNE COUNTY, MD. 
There are in this county 195 crabbers and 8 crab houses. The 
erabbing grounds are in the northern part of Eastern Bay on the 
south and in Chester River on the north; the principal shipping 
center is Queenstown on the Chester River, its shipping facilities 
being a Baltimore boat three days a week and the Maryland, Dela- 
ware & Virginia Railroad, connecting by ferry with Baltimore. 
Other small shipping points are found’up the Chester River. There 
are no picking hatses hard and soft crabs being shipped alive. 
KENT COUNTY, MD. 
There are here 160 crabbers and 3 crab houses. These houses ship 
hard and soft crabs alive, but no meat. The crabbing grounds are 
in the Chester River, the main shipping point being Rock Hall, 
which has service by the Baltimore boat three times a week. 
There is no commercial crabbing carried on north of Kent County 
on the east and Baltimore on the west. Pooles Island, at the southern 
extremity of Harford County, is se 2 eas the northern limit of the 
crabbing industry of Chesapeake Bay. 
