Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-07-31
Crabs,

Slr0lllUS tH!OuSn me great ulalk%ls 81 the CIV
some OF! the marble >IaiI,S are seen covered
with peculiar shaped crates containing Luz
drcS OF crab, all alive. Touch one OF tie
dark blue and vi,lct clad dame, 50 coS~ly peck.
ed, side By side. and instantly II rhou and claw.
and LEGS are struggling to wand If the !nrui
ers hand. Those are the "shcdJcr crabs.
In the next crate. reposng on cool sea weed
are u hundred dark brown beauties plump
tender and delicate, who submit To careful
handling with no other demonstrations than
softly waving harmless claws and feet Havg
lost their hard coats, they are decDccc>>
these are the soft shell crabs. In another
crate may be seen Il tangled mass Of dark green
bodies, Clubbing rvllIpg. tumbliug over each
other Savageiy snappag with sharp, hari
claws at everything and anything that inter.
crcs with them in their scmi-amphibious gym
nastics These are the hard crabs
Without going deeply into the natural history
Of the cru>tacca, it is well to know that the
crabs supplied to the New York markets are c-
ccived FROM the shores OF the Atlantic aud it,
arms along the coast, from Norfolk, Virginia,
to the eastern end of Long Island Sound.
crabs are in plentiful supply. Along the
the daytime in front Of the low-g grade theatres
the bright red bodies seen on stalls Of
rude manufacture. aud continuously the ear is
a-aael by the harsh cry Of boiled hard
crabs" They form cheap food for non
dyspcptics aud meet with ready sale.
The ''shedding" Of the crab is very inter
estDg process. Just as soon as they arc ready
| to change their skin, they rub their feet one
against the other, and put themselves into
strong convul>ive motion They then swell
| their bodies until the first iolnt OF the tall, be
| tween the back and the apron, separates more
| than usual. The membrane which unltcS the
upper ard under shells then breaks and OK
| poses the new. brown skin. Having accom-
| psled that unbutt1uing OF their coats they
rest for tme Then the convul>ivc move
mcuts aud the swelling process are repeated.
and they raise themselves until the upper she'll
is detached at ali points except uSt around the
! eyes After little while the eyes are Olsen.
gagged. then the ttecr>, and all parts of the
mouth.
Another struggle takes place. during which
! the claws and feet are stripped. and then the
crab, sud lcnIy listcndiug its tail moves back
ward out Of the old skin and leaves it for
ever. The soi'-sheIl crab is then about one
filth larger than before he left the shell. -
Exhausted and dctcnSclc>>. they are caught
by the net or by hand, and forwarded by the
lishermcn to market. But they are MOI de-
lensclcss long. Before three H-0d tides have
flowed over them the delicate brown skin com.
mences to harlcn-or buckle, aS the fishermen
say, and in a week the shell is aS hard as when
they commenced to shed. So the fisher must
be prompt. Sometimes the fishers take the
paius to catch shcdlerS aud put them in can
| or crccl. Then AZ soon is the crab l. ayes his
shell he is taken from the crcel and sent Ia
| mark
Soft shell crabs are, indeed, luxurics 1.-THE
usual practice is followed. the largest crabs are
| selected. The lvcliest are considered II be
the best. They are washed and Dreaded, Just
the same as an oyster, and then laid in Il pan
of hot lat over quick fire, and Drowned on
both sides. II you don't like them as they
come hot from the Pan, with the usual conii
mentS, wait until they Get cold, and then eat
them with toast.
The supply from Norfolk, Va, commences
about the first week in February and continues
until May Then the weather becomes too
warm to ship them from that port and keep
them alive until they reach here Besides
they are then caught along the Chesapeake
and Delaware bays in large quantities, and for.
warded at less expense In June, Jnly and IN.
gust, the height OF the season. large quantities
are received from Mana>quan river, Shark
river, and Shrewsbury river. New jersey. and
| the north and south shores Of Long Island They
are packed edeewlSe. claws up. in shallow
| crates, say four inches deep. eighteen inches
wide and three feet long, with layer Of damp
scaweed on the bottom and over them. Anger
holes about one Lch in diameter and about
| one foot apart are bored through the sides Of
the crate To give ventilation.
The wholesale dealers in the markets gene
rally buy from mi,lde-men, who have made
agreements with tie crab-tishers in each local
ty to buy at Il certain price, averaging i've ShlI-
lingS dozcn all they catch during the season.
The middle men pack the crabs, pay the
freight, and conssn them to the large dealers in
New York. When the crates arrive they are
opened immediately and examined. The dead
crabs are thrown away and the live ones count
ed. The largest crabs bring the best prices,
and the wholesale dealers pay. freight OIL from
S1i ceLts to $ % per dozen on the average.
The crates contain from twelve to fourteen
dozen, and the freight from Norfolk, BY stca-
mer (the better way to send thern), i about
scventy-tvc cents crate The average daily
receipts are $50 doZco, or 2,nO0d"Zrn pcrwcck.
Crabs are served at prices ranging from
twenty to forty five cents each, two being con
sidcrcd fair portion Having been properly
dressed that Is with the elIls eyes, mouth AMI
sack removed, there is absolutely no waste,
unless the consumer is very plrtlcuhr WIZ"
he can easily remove the delicate brown skin
on top and proceed with safety.
LIABILITY or IHDoRsERS. The case at IS
sue in st. L1uiS heretofore reported has been
decided The Missouri Republican says, as
follows:
John Clemens udorsed a note for Christian
Stachln which was not paid on maturity. The
creditors of the latter seek to force Mr.. Gle
mems into bankruptcy, and in answer to their
petition for adjudication of bankruptcy ne sets.
forth his ability to pay his own debts, aud that
he has no paper of his own making past due
and unpaid 70 this answer petitioner dcmurs
as bc . insufficient and Judge Treat sustanS
the demurrer. The effect OF this decision is
virtually to declare that the indorscr and
maker of note stand in the same relation to
the Bankrupt act, and that the indorser must
make provision as for his own commercial