414 GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



comes that for the spot (Liostomus xanthurus), of which 25,000 pounds are estimated to have been 

 taken in 1880. 



MILFORD. Milford, which is pleasantly situated on the line of the Junction and Breakwater 

 Railroad where it crosses the Mispillion Creek, some 8 miles from its mouth in a direct line, is the 

 next town south of Frederica, from which it is distant about 8 miles. Ihe village proper has a 

 population of about 3,000, though this enumeration would be considerably increased by including 

 the residents scattered around in the farming districts in the immediate vicinity. According to 

 Mr. J. Lowery, of this place, the principal business is ship-building 1 and agricultural pursuits. On 

 the banks of the Mispillion, in front of the village, are seven or eight ship-yards, while iu the 

 town are two foundries, a basket factory, and factories for the manufacture of agricultural imple- 

 ments. Some of the iuhabitants are also engaged in the coasting-trade, fifteen or twenty vessels 

 of this class sailing from the port. 



Milford has one hundred and fifty-seven men employed in the fisheries for a portion of the 

 year. A considerable percentage of these, however, follow fishing only iu the spring and early 

 summer, depending on other pursuits the rest of the year. Fifty-five of these men fish only for 

 fresh-water species, while the remainder depend chiefly on catching sea fish, though they may 

 sometimes engage in the capture of fish iu the small streams which flow through the township. 



Milford has employed in its fisheries fifty boats, worth $665; twenty-five gill-nets, worth $125; 

 seventy-five haul-seines, valued at $1,700; also twelve buildings, worth $240, the latter being small 

 roughly-constructed shanties such as have been previously described for the towns further up the 

 bay. In addition to the fishermen employed in catching fish there are six peddlers who make a 

 specialty of buying their stock from the fishermen and hawking it about through the adjacent 

 towns. 



There are about seventy-five men iu Milford who engage iu the shad and herring fisheries in 

 the spring, using gill-nets and seines. There are six shad "fisheries" on the Mispillion River, all of 

 which are below Milford. At these places shad and herring are taken with haul-seines. The 

 principal fishing ground on the bay for the people of this township is Slaughter Beach, though a 

 few of the men occasionally resort to other fishing stations further up the bay. 



The products of the fisheries of Milford are 435,000 pounds of sea and anadroinous fish, 22,000 

 pounds of fresh-water fish, 3,600 terrapin, and 6,000 crabs. 



The most important fishery of Milford is that for sea-trout, of which 305,000 pounds are esti- 

 mated to have been taken in 1880. Next to this comes the shad fishery, of which about 40,01)0 

 pounds were caught the same year. A large portion of the fish taken in this locality are sold at 

 the village or to residents of the interior towns, many of whom, during the fishing season, go to 

 the sea-shore to obtain a supply of fish which they salt for their own use. 



MILTON. Passing by the small and unimportant way stations of Lincoln and Ellendale, on 

 the line of the Junction and Breakwater Railroad, we come to the village of Milton, some 12 or 14 

 miles in a southeasterly direction from Milford, and the next point of interest in connection with 

 the fisheries. The village of Milton has between 1,000 and 1,100 inhabitants. The principal 

 industries of the place are ship-building, the pine wood trade, and farming; the fishing and 

 oyster industries being of a secondary importance. Milton is situated on Broadkill Creek, 

 about 7 miles in a direct line from its mouth, where it empties into the waters of the Chesapeake 

 Bay. This stream, though comparatively narrow, is nevertheless navigable to the village of 

 Milton. In the spring and early summer, as well as to a greater or less extent in the winter, the 

 fisheries are carried on throughout almost its entire length. Some 5 miles below Milton, and 

 situated on the right bank of the creek, is the post-office station of Drawbridge, which is also 



