The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1880-05-08
Our 0lio.
The shad and the Alewife Fisheries.

@~N teN NAo 0AoWAo lnuHAACes
The management Of great seine might
well employ the talent Of a skillful civil
engineer, there are so many mechanical
forces to put in operation, and 50 much
skin and judgment TO be used 10 struc.
tures aud appliances. The seining ground
has to be cleared up, requiring divers,
giant powder, and hosting apparatus to
RAISE rocks aud the great cypress stumps
and knees. Steam-tugs and small vessels
for transporting the fish, and steam-en-
glnes and machinery, are part Of the gen
eral outfit. Many Of the devices and i'm
proVements arc invented on the shores.
The seine must be carefully chung be-
tween the cord and lead lines, SO that the
lower portion viii draw little 10 front of
the upper, and so that the twine shall not
strain uneyenly. A seine badly hung may
have the tendency TO lift the lead line from
the bottom in places, and allow the fish to
escape; or it may give the lead line the
tendency to roll up the lower portion of
the seine, or tend to sink the line In front
of the bag in the mud, aud anchor there.
The wind, tide, aud current influence the
latter positions of the seine, and must be
considered before il is "shot" from the
boats, A constant watch is required upon
its workings, and it is quite usual to keep
horse saddled, to send orders down the
beach to each end Of the line.
The investments in large fisheries some
times reach the sum of $50, 900. \ fish
cry on Albemarle Sound, from the footing
up of its books, during period Of nine
years, exhibited an aggregate profit of
500, 900.
The proprietors Of the plantations--of-
ten men Of culture and cducation-not
seldom exercise direct daily supervisor of
their fisheries. This has been the custom
in these regions from carly times. The
fishery once owned by General Washing.
ton, which frequently had his personal
control, is still represented by one 10 the
immediate vicinity, at Ferry Landing, on
the Potomac.
In the shad fisheries Of the bays and
some of the Southern rivers we have the
dritt-fshing, Of similar character in it.
methods to that on the coasts Of Scotland
which has been made interesting in the
novels of Reads aud Macdonald. Tn,
head Of Chesapeake Bay is the center o
large fleet OF drift.net fishing boats, OIL
( "gillers, which is the comprehensive loca
| term.
The "gilling ground" extends frou
Havre dc Grace, Maryland, eastward ant
southwark to the mouth Of the Chester
River. Between Havre de Grace ant
Spesutia Island shoal extends with tn,
nagigable channel to the westward. and /,
the eastward an old partially filed up chan
mel known as the Swash. Near the cente
Of the shoal light house has been built
called the Battery Light When the shaC
have reached this point in the bay, the,
come up on the shOal in the night. at slael
water Of ebb and food of tide. From tn,
Battery Light to the head of the island i
known to be the centre Of their congrega
tion, aud great strife for the good berth
prevails, so much so that cnterprising fish
ermen will lie in their boats for half a day
anchored to the spot where they desire /,
cast the Gets after dark.
These drift nets are made of fine twipe
and entangle the fishes by the gill flaps a
they swim against them. The cork lin,
tioats at the surface, aud the lightly weight
ed lead line at low tide trails along III,
bottom. At each end of the nets. WhicI
have ordinarily length of three hundre,
yards, float is tied upon which rides
lantern. These lanterns are required I,
distinguish the different nets, as they mr.,
cast along the shoal parallel to each other
often with not more than fifty or sixty fee
intervening. They drift with the tide
aud one floating too slowly, or snagged a
the bottom, becomes fouled with lis neigh
Dor as soon as il is oysrtaken. Il is es
sential that all are put out simultaneously
or the dividing spaces soon become irreg
ular, and many of them too narrow, result
ing in the nets becoming entangled will
each other.
A still night on the bay, in the heighi
of the season, is pleasant experience
The anchored boats, scarcely discernible il
the dusk, become deep shadowy masses a
intervals or disappear in the darkness
Suddenly muffled, quiet movement O
oars is heard, aud in quick succession
lights appear on the water in long line
aud the rapid movement of hundred pair
OF oars is heard as they click in the row
locks. Each rover vies with his rival to
run out the three hundred yards OF net
his oomrade In the stern rapidly and skill
fully throwing the corks aud leads Som,
impatient fellow usually pulls up his an
chor silently, but the light on the waite
telcgraphs the fact to the rest, aud h,
rarely gets half dozen strokes ahead
One hundred boats often pull abreast acros,
the line Of the shoal. The second lanterr
floating on the water announces the net al
out.
Standing in the night on an elevated
point of the island, with many hundred
lights strewn thiekly over the wide expaus,
OF water, the observer is impressed will
the similarity of the view above him ant
below, as if the stars overhead were re
fiecled on the surface of the bay with deu
bic brillianey.
The boatman either turns directly bach
and runs the net passing the corklin,
through the hands-readily detecting tn,
presence of the fish, or he rows back /,
the starting point, and Il is run from tha
end, the net all the time drifting with n,
tide. The shad, whenever found ar
"ungiiled" and thrown into .ke boat ant
the net drops away again.
The necessity for instantly going owe
the net relates to the presence of rrea
quantities Of cells, which soon spoil IN,
shad for the market, or for the table
Sitting IN my boat while the oarsman wa
quietly rowing behind agiller," we wer
attracted by continual splashing 10 a ne
near BY. We thought Il to be sturgeon
rolling aud entangling himself in th,
twine, as they sometimes do. Headiu,
the boat in the direction Of the sound. nm,
coming near, Il seemed at first to be a mum
Der Of ''herring" meshed in a singularI,
close huddls, and in their struggles HashinI
their white sides 10 the dim starlight A
we came nearer, turned the light of ID,
lantern full upon them, and discovered
swarm OF eels tearing and stripping III,
nesh from the bones Of shad which ha,
giiled Itself near the cork linz C.,h....