NEW YORK: SOUTH SHOEE OF LONG ISLAND. 371 



Smith, better known by the name of 'Governor Smith,' the father of Mr. S. I. Smith, now proprie- 

 tor of the Watson House, at Babylon, caught it while pulling in a sheepshead." 



An observant angler, who has a summer cottage here, says that ten years ago Spanish mack- 

 erel were plenty, although they are very rare now. He does not fish on Sundays, but notices that 

 those who do, find the best fishing on that day because the fish are not disturbed then by the drag- 

 ging of the fly-nets. 



Mr. George L. Benjamin, pouud-netter, says: "Every other year there is a large catch of por- 

 gies; this year, 1880, they are plenty, but small, mostly under a quarter of a pound. Sheepshead 

 have been plenty this year." 



The catch of eels this year amounted to 3,000 pounds; of fresh fish, 1,000,000 pounds; hard 

 crabs, 1,500 barrels; soft crabs, 1,000 dozen. There are twenty fishermen here, of whom fifteen 

 are married; and a total of eighty persons live from the fisheries; $5,000 are invested in boats 

 and $4,000 in nets. 



BABYLON. Babylon, like several of the preceding places, is a popular angling resort and fash- 

 ionable retreat for summer visitors. Boats are let here at $4 to $5 per day. Fifty persons here 

 are dependent upon the fisheries, including the ten fishermen and the families of the six married 

 ones; 500 are invested in boats and $2,000 in nets. The catch for the past year has been: Eels, 

 1,000 pounds; fresh fish, 1,000,000 pounds; hard crabs, 200 barrels; soft crabs, 300 dozen. 



BRESLAU. Most of the inhabitants of the town of Breslau live by cigar making. Four men 

 devote part of their time to fishing, but their catch, which last year amounted to 800 pounds of 

 eels, 10,000 pounds of fresh fish, and 50 barrels of crabs, is consumed locally. 



AMITYYILLE. Eels form the principal product of the fisheries of Amityville. Forty men are 

 engaged in taking this species in the bay, and cod in the outer waters. Twenty-five of the fisher- 

 men are married, and one hundred and fifty persons in all are dependent on the fisheries ; $8,000 

 are invested in boats and $6,000 in nets. Four large seines are used, in addition to a number of 

 fykes, fly-nets, and eel-pots. The pots are of the same form as those described under Kiverhead, 

 in the chapter on the East End, and are worth 60 cents each. Oysters are planted, and some hard 

 and soft clams are taken. Some of the men fish for menhaden at times. The catch was divided as 

 follows: Eels, 200,000 pounds; fresh fish, 250,000 pounds; hard crabs, 200 barrels; soft crabs, 200 

 dozen. 



130. SOUTH OYSTER BAY. 



South Oyster Bay is the central portion of that expansion of the coastal lagoon of which the 

 eastern part has already been described under the name of Great South Bay. It begins at the line 

 dividing Suffolk and Queens Counties, lying wholly in the latter, and in the township of South 

 Oyster Bay, which extends across the island to Oyster Bay, on the north shore. A cluster of 

 large islands serves to separate it from Hempstead Bay on the west, and numerous other groups 

 and single islets diversify its surface. The oyster and clam interests are the principal industries 

 on this bay. 



There are five hundred men engaged in the oyster and clam business, and twenty in fishing. 

 Twelve of the latter are married, and seventy persons derive a livelihood from the fisheries proper. 

 Five hundred boats are used of 1 or 2 tons each, worth from $25 to $100. The yearly value of 

 menhaden taken for use as a fertilizer is $1,000. The catch of oysters per annum is 20,000 bushels; 

 hard clams, 7,000 bushels; soft clams, 2,000 bushels; mussels, 50,000 bushels (for manure). A 

 large part of the products are sent to New York by water. Some shipments, however, are made 

 by rail or teams. The oyster ground is leased in three-acre lots from the town of Hempstead, at 



