The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-04-07

Il -. -.teSSAA SASSkaSUhHAknHt TEAM THAT OF
rns sEwreysD.A sp eon RisEzsirs- sssEs.
george sssss1 ss:s = %
very few persons, even III Viratnis, are
aWatos That ashcries Sof che Potomac form
enc 81 the most important tnterests 0f the
country On the main river and III tribu.
Iafses are over ore hundred ss nsfall,afrs3
snores & sofiae OF them OF limited ,exfenk
ous many OF them large establishments.
siapsoyang g heavy force Of men asia teams,
ana recurring q barge capital and great an.
perlenee and good Judgment Ia their nanage-
m .nens Tle fisheries proper are ain aboys
Matnias,s Point all that Is done below that
1slng in g limited way for q local supply.
rms = owing IN part to the expense Of clear.
ing the hauling ground. fiIIed a. IL IA with
OYSTER rooS, large boaltiers of oysler
shells and oysters cemented In a ,pass.hI,t
more TO The fact that The water being salt
the fish hold the channel, and, Passing on
rapidly, do not spread over the bars and mid.
die grounds till they "strike y the frssher wa.
ter above. The shores in the vicinity OF Aouia
creek do rather large business Ia favorable
seasons In winter fsheFy--i. g., for rock.
perch. and catfish; but the proper Hshfng
season for s5 q tssi aF8-,sie Ear :,
saAp AND HEkRING ~ : t
does not usually open TIL about the middle
Of March, and continues about sixty days.
For this, fishing seines are used according to
the width Of the river, from half mile
to mile and a half in length, and from
fathom to three or four deep, according 10
the depth of water fished over, and requir-
| Ing from thirty to sixty men to handle them,
| and from four to eight horses at the zap
| STAINS, and using up six hours from the time
of "laying out till they are again
"landed." To meet the great expense OF
s,tch an establishment and secure reason-
| able profit on the capital invested there must
| be caught during the season over one mil
| lion herring and an equal weight Of shad
and bunch fish, and these must be sold
on d favorable market. The market was
4 formerly Mt the "shores," TO farmers
who came from fur in the interior to lay
in their stock OF fish. This visit, you
may VA believe, was nm event Of great
importance 70 the planter, who had col
4 iected oil the surplus bacon, flour, dried
fruit, and perhaps little apple-jack, to be
i disposed of in the towns through which bis
route lay; but to the few negroes who were
lpermitted to attend him it was the opening
reward held out for faithful service, and fur.
year; and to have enjoyed the visit twice
would have required the grace of Uncle
Tom to remain in proper state Of humil-
iity. Since the cru of railroads this whole
business Is changed, and Alexandria has be-
come the centre of the fish trade; the 'fcatch,'
being sent there daily by. sailing vessels or
steamers, are sold at auction in bulk, moi
always, and lately not often, adyantageohsiy
to the catcher. TO checkmate. the combina.
tons to depress the market the seihemen
have this year established their own pack.
ing.house, In which their g cargo !" is left il
a iair price is not bid in the market. A large
and rapidly increasing business is done In
Washington in ice-packing. -, - !, i s
THE G1LLERs. @.f ;:-
This consumes the entire catch Of the
"gillers," whose name is legion, and whose
more evenly large, than the seine-caught
These OILERS are not the rough fishermen Of
the pictures, but are many of them men oil
means and character, who come on from
"the Jerseys" Philadelphia, and other more
northern towns, with nets of great length
and costly boats, which ride safely any storm
and rent "a front " to bring them inside the
law, and after two months of diligent 'smind,
ing their own business" return with we'll
lined pockets. Their fish, as have already
said, and Of late many seine-caught fish, are
sent off in ice by rail to all the North and
West, aud"the traveller who starts from
| Washington in the morning can sup al
Elmira or Rochester on Potomac shad that
! journeyed with him. The ontire result Of 0
season is catch of from 80
| THIRTY TO FIFTY MILLIONS
of herring and an equal weight of shad and
|"bunch" fish;i. e., rock, perch, &C., and 9
bulk of offal which, at the lower shores, L
equal to one-third of the saleable fish. This
furnishes an amount of food equal to OF
greater than that furnished By the entire