The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1897-02-06
HARE AND SOFT CRABS.
a Maryland Industry of Considerable Inn
portanceA

pOEIdnco
The Chesapeake crab is now a com.
mercial commodity, which while com
ing in third on the list, the oyster can
ming first and the scale fishes second
in order of value, is of no mean impor,
lance. On the contrary, to put the
annual income to the fishermen en-,
gagged in the industry at 100000 would
be to underestimate it. This industry
has in recent years sprung up along
the Chesapeake bay. At Queenstown,
Kent island and eastern Neck island,
hear the mouth of the Chester river,
are the principal shipping points for
Kent and Queen Anne's counties of the
soft crab or the scarcely less appetizing
hard crab.
During the early season thousands of
dozens of soft crabs were shipped from
these points, and, however strange it
may appear, the prices were governed
largely by the phases of the moor The
sloughing a of the crab is after
the dark of the moon, increasing as
the moon nears its full. Operated upon
by the u~nvarying law of supply and de,
mand, as the supply becomes more
abundant at the moons full prices
often drop to 10 or Is cents per dozen,
while at other seasons the fancy prices
of from 60 to so cents are received.
Thousands of dozens were shipped from
Kent and Queen Anne's counties alone,
bringing in n handsome revenue. Id
~bOr-saving methods have entered into
the soft crab fishery, and from the
tedious hoop-net method the soft crab
is now dragged for with nets as are
other fish, and at one haul many doZ-
BIS are sometimes caught. \ grassy
shore or flat is the favorite resort for
the sloughers, for there, to a great eX-
tent, they are out of the way of their
inveterate enemies, cells and some of
the larger fishes. II is only at the sea.
son of shedding it's old for a new gar
ment that the crab grows and develops
from the small crab at the opening of
the season to the 'channeler" at its
close. From the fact that soft crabs
are shipped in smaller quantities it
would be impossible to aggregate the
handsome results during a single
season.
1t is different, however, with the hard
crab. On many trips of the Chester
river steamers during the past season
as many as 100 barrels of hard crabs
were shipped from Kent island alone.
which sold at prices varying from Is
cents per barrel Il one dollar. At an
average of so barrels per day for a
three-months' season, deducting 12
Sundays, gives n total of 4,4OO barrels,
and putting the price at so cents per
barrel gives the handsome results for
this point alone for less than three
months actual work of $4,000. With
favorable conditions and good luck at
tending n single crabber sometimes
winds up 4 days work with SIS added
to his seasons profits. The trot line
is the most picturesque way of captur-
eraI hundred feet in length has attached
at each end Il tioater. At intervals Of
a few inches are lines about Is inches
OF two feet in length, all well baited.
The crabber, lying IN his stomach in
his boat, with net in hand, goes from
end to end of this line, and at each trip
finds a greater or less number of the
baited lines with crabs on them. Large
cannerieS have been opened, and the
canned crab is now known rs a COIL
modify of commerce in sections where
the live crab has never been seen. One
of the largest of these crab packing
establishments is located at Oxford,
Talbot county.-Baltimore Sun.