SHAD FISHERIES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. 181 



Pound nets are the only apparatus used for taking shad, the number 

 in 189G being 70. Of these, 27 were located on the northeast side of 

 the bay from New Point to the mouth of Bast River, and 49 on the 

 southwest side between York Spit light and the mouth of Severn River, 

 the nets on the north side of York Spit being listed as within this bay. 

 These pound nets differed in no particular from those used in the Ches- 

 apeake, except that they were generally somewhat smaller, costing 

 about $200 each. Shad were fairly abundant, but about the middle of 

 March the fishing was injured by high winds, and the total catch for 

 the year was less than usual, numbering 72,852 roe shad and 67,925 

 bucks. The fishermen of Mobjack Bay, as well as those of the Chesa- 

 peake, complain of the extremely low prices received, the local value 

 of the 140,777 shad taken in this bay being only $13,874. 



JAMES RIVER. 



James River is formed by the junction of Jackson and Cowpasture 

 rivers in Botetourt County and empties into Chesapeake Bay about 20 

 miles from the ocean, the entire river and all its tributaries lying wholly 

 in Virginia. The total length, following its sinuosities, is about 335 

 miles, but in a straight line it is only 200 miles from the headwaters to 

 the mouth. In the lower portion the width ranges from 2 to 6 miles, 

 while from the entrance of the Chickahominy, 50 miles from the mouth, 

 to the entrance of the Appomattox the average width of the river is less 

 than 1 mile. At the entrance of the Appomattox the fluvial character- 

 istics begin, and thence to Richmond the banks are quite steep and the 

 course narrow and tortuous. The river is navigable for vessels drawing 

 16 feet to the head of tide water at Richmond, 111 miles distant from 

 the mouth. 



At Richmond there are numerous falls and rapids extending through 

 a rocky bed a distance of 3 miles, in which the total descent is about 

 84 feet, and in these rapids there are several dams, supplying power 

 to mills in Richmond and Manchester. These obstructions, however, 

 do not entirely block the upward passage of shad, being low and 

 extending only partly across the stream. Nine miles above Richmond 

 is Bosher's dam, from 9 to 12 feet in height and 900 feet in length, 

 entirely crossing the channel, forming a barrier to the further ascent of 

 shad. If this dam were made passable, little benefit would be accom- 

 plished unless numerous other obstructions were similarly improved, 

 there being 14 dams from 9 to 16 feet high within the 200 miles above 

 Bosher's dam. 



Prior to the erection of these obstructions large numbers of shad 

 ascended as far as the junction of Jackson and Cowpasture rivers, and 

 were taken in considerable quantities in those two tributaries over 335 

 miles from Chesapeake Bay. According to Marshall McDonald, the 

 annual catch of shad between Richmond and Lynchburg was at one 

 time far in excess of the present yield for the entire river, and even in 

 the Valley of Virginia, west of the Blue Ridge, seine fisheries were 



