THE KING-CEAB FISHEEY OF DELAWAEE BAY. 
365 
In 1880 there are nine of them on the flats along the shore, some having 2 or 3 feet of water at low 
tide, while others are entirely dry. They differ considerably from the pound-nets of other portions of 
the coast. The leader is about 50 fathoms long, and in the place of the fore-bay are two wings, each 
25 fathoms in length. The pound proper or bowl is divided into two compartments, the first being 
intended for king-crabs {Limuliis polyphemm) that are taken in enormous numbers during the early 
summer. The second compartment is connected with the first by means of a funnel-shaped opening 
large enough to allow the fish to enter, but too small to admit the crabs. The lower part of the pound 
is made of stakes imbedded in the mud and extending a foot or more above it. To these the netting 
is attached, the object being to keep it above the crabs that would otherwise destroy it. * 
Mr. Howell states that most of the pound-nets now used have bowls or “ pounds” 
only for crabs, and that but few fish have been taken iu late years in the nets provided 
with two compartments, although formerly considerable quantities of squeteague and 
goody were secured. 
The stakes which form the framework for these pounds are 8 to 10 feet long and 
4 to 6 inches in diameter. They are located 4 to 6 feet apart. To the bottom of the 
stakes, constituting the “hedge,” boards 1 inch thick are nailed to the height of a 
foot or more; the bottom of the bowl, and the sides to the height of 1 to feet, are 
formed in the same way, as mentioned by Mr. Earll. The door to the first bowl i.s 
from 18 to 24 inches wide on each side of the leader; the fuuneldike entrance to the 
second bowl, when one exists, is much narrower, and only a few crabs pass through it. 
The netting consists of either wire or twine. 
The cost of such an apparatus depends somewhat on the length of leader and size 
of bowls. The most expensive form operated in recent years was probably worth not 
more than $75, from which amount to about $25 every intermediate value is repre- 
sented. 
This form of net is employed where the tide leaves the “ pound ” dry or fully 
exposed at low water. Both boats and wagons are used in tending the nets; the 
wagons are considered more convenient and are more extensively employed. The 
crabs are taken from the nets with pitch-forks, or with a crab-spear consisting of a 
single piece of sharp-pointed metal mounted in a long handle. 
The catch varies with the year, month, and tide. In 1888 the catch per tide was 
from 25 to 2,000 crabs to each net, or from 5,000 to 60,000 crabs per season. In 1890 the 
average catch was considerably smaller, taking the entire shore into consideration. 
The weir, or “ stake net ” as it is here called, is very different from the pound-net 
just described, although both have some parts in common, as will be seen by consulting 
the accompanying plates. It consists essentially of poles or stakes driven into muddy 
or sandy bottoms, so as to form a leader or “ hedge,” wings, and a bowl or “ pound.” 
The i)oles constituting the bowl are 8 to 10 feet long and 2 to 4 inches in diameter 
at their larger ends and 1 to 1^ inches in diameter at their smaller extremities. For 
the wings and leader, poles from 3 to 6 feet long are employed. The poles are placed 
from 1^ to 3 inches apart to permit the sea to wash through. 
The bowl is somewhat semicircular in shape, the extremities of the brush-work 
joining the wings about midway their length. Its capacity is encroached upon by the 
leader and the door or entrance to the pound, which is the most important feature of 
the apparatus. It consists of a wedge-shaped platform of boards fitting into the space 
between the wings as they approach the leader. The platform is inclined at a gentle 
* The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States, Section ii, p. 397. 
