8 CRAB INDUSTRY OF CHESAPEAKE BAY. 
LICENSED CRABBERS AND DEALERS IN MARYLAND AND VirGintA, 1916-17—Contd. 
VIRGINIA. 
T.icensed crabbers. 
Counties. Dip net, Dealers. 
a Dredge. | Total. 
scrape. 
Number. | Number. | Number. | Number 
ACCOMAG! oe prewar ee ee ccecicin a xt tae Ame ee ee eee ae yl eR 40: 13 
Nortitati berland 2 sic. este esis neo cnrg Ss ssa ee ent 200 |b cock tects 200). S caeee 
liza bet Clty cccc cnt acct each cows sews cr ci sacle aie mecca thee Samrat 59 57 116 16 
WON re ke 5 eee cee ee ee eee cae DAs Sess Sea Re ek es ae 78 18 OGL fso.ee see 
INGEIOES cece. cece ceensee chan sondaan se ae cee een ate 59 1 60 11 
Manesster? 22. sa8asett a - -ebesu-eeo . qaue tees a aaa ae Seen §8iJeecesa- ass 53: | ecceeens 
RERTR EWS S is ae Se ese BS, SS ee sete aoe =. dean eclogeeeeee 40 6 AG | Ret yao 
Westmoreland: es. 86. Seo oeess tei b ect See name woe C2 beep taal ae 44 |. uae 
Middlesexes aoc.csancecta- sates eak tac ee eee een tees Soren eemee BO est saseece Sth Bae eke 
INonihamptonies..ce 2-2 hae se te toa=- ee 37 1 38 b2 
IGIGUCESEED = =e ae aee ene oan ero e aisle eee oe ee eat ate ete yt eee 20 ost aoe oe 
ing ‘and: Queen: = 2-.----2+--ees-cee corer na> == 2s see LET ae Ra 19 c2 
Princess‘ANNG.. <2 2. an acest eee eee ee ee eee Beene ae Sih. see eee Sicantdek=. 
Isle of Wight.......-----2-05 05-22 2-525 teense sb ocecne--5-see5 iy eens dee i ee Se 
otal o2%2: SS. dexcic RS ace passe ees BE aeteens seseaas 1,055 83 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 barrels 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, Philadelphia & 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 i 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- 
ie ee ae See 
