THE COAST OF MAINE. ' 27 



Handspike Qeotjnd. — This is a small rocky shoal, Ij'ing eight miles southwest by south 

 from Moos-a-beo light-house. It is nearly circular in outline, about half a mile in diameter, and 

 with depths of thirty-five to forty fathoms. 



Western Eg& Rock lies eight miles southwest from Moos-a-bec light-house. Its length, 

 in a northeast and southwest direction, is three miles and its breadth one mile. The depths 

 range, from twenty to thirty-flve fathoms, and the bottom is irregular, sharp, and rocky, being 

 too rough for trawls ; hand-lines are, therefore, almost wholly used by the boat-fishermen, who 

 resort to it in summer for cod and pollock. 



Old Egg Eock bears west southwest from Moos-a-bec light-house ; distance; sis miles. 

 It extends three miles in a southwest and northeast direction, and is one mile wide. The 

 bottom is rocky, with depths ranging from twenty-five to thirty-five fathoms. It is prin- 

 cipally resorted to by small boats in pursuit of cod and pollock, which are mainly taken with 

 hand-lines, though trawls are occasionally used. 



Middle Eidge lies three miles west by south from Moos-a-bec light-house, and extends 

 one mile northeast and southwest, the width being one-half mile. The depth varies from eighteen 

 to twenty-five fathoms, the bottom being rocky and rough. It is occasionally resorted to by 

 small-boat fishermen, using hand-lines only, but only a few fish are taken. 



Broken Ground is a large piece of broken bottom, the eastern end of which bears south 

 by east fifteen miles from Moos-a-bec light, whence the ground extends west-southwest to within 

 four miles of Mount Desert Eock; its average width is about one mile. The depths vary from 

 fifteen to one hundred fathoms, the shoaler portions being sharp and rocky, and the deep places 

 consisting of clay and gravel. Some of the spots are half a mile long, and others from one to 

 three miles in diameter, with an average depth of seventy fathoms. Cod are taken on the outside 

 of the grounds^ pollock and small cod on the shoals, and hake on the inside. By some this is 

 considered the best fishing-ground on the coast. Several of the spots have special names, as 

 " Crawley ?s Eock," "Puzzling Eock," "Lenke's Eock," and " The Eidges." Fishing continues four 

 months — from June 1 to September 30. Herring are abundant here in their season and are used 

 in large quantities for bait. 



The'itidges, which form a part of the "Broken Ground," bear south from Moos-abec; 

 distance to the center, nine miles. They are seven miles long, southwest and northeast; two 

 miles wide, and have a depth of from thirty to thirty-five fathoms. The bottom consists of rocks 

 and gravel, on which cod and pollock are abundant. 



Graivley^s Eock boars south seventeen miles from Moos-a-bec light, and has a shoal of about 

 fifteen acres in extent, with a depth of fifteen fathoms and a bottom of sharp rocks. 



Puzzling Bock bears south fourteen miles from Moos-a-bec light, and has a shoal about half a 

 mile in diameter, on which the depth of water is fifteen fathoms, and the bottom sharp and rocky. 



GROUNDS OFF PETIT MANAN. 



Tibbett's Ledge bears about east from Petit Manan ; distance, four to five miles. (Marks : 

 Schoodic Island, over the green island of Petit Manan, and the Ladle, over Nash's Island.) This 

 ledge consists of two rocky shoals, Aiith a depth of three to three and a half fathoms. The shoals 

 are only about one acre in extent and a quarter of a mile apart, bearing northwest and southeast 

 from each other. To the westward of these shoals the ground is broken nearly to Petit Manan, 

 and this section is a favorite resort for small boats. To the eastward, however, the ledge drops 

 off suddenly into mud. In May, large cod are caught over the muddy bottom, just to the eastward 



