The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1897-06-29
CRABS AND THE MOON.
An Industry From which ChesaPcai
waterInen Derive Profits.

An Industry from which Chesapeake
waternen Derive Profits.
The Chesapeake crab is now a com
mercial commodity, which, while COM
ming in third on the list. the oyster
coming first and the scale fishes sec
ond in order Of value. is of no mean
Importance. On the'contrary, 20 put
the annual income 10 the fishermen en-
gagged in the industry at n hundred
thousand dollars would he 10 under
estimate IL. This grabbing industry
along the Chesapeake bay is n growth
of recent years. At. Queenstown,
Kent Island and Eastern Neck Island,
near 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 APP
petizing hard crab
During the early season thousands
of dozens of soft crabs were shipped
from these points, and, strange to saw.
the prices obtained are governed by
the phases of the moon. The slough
ing season of the crab is after the dark
of the moon, increasing as the moon
nears its full Operated upon by the
unval ying law of supply and demand,
as the supply becomes more abundant
at the moons full, prices often drop to
ten or fifteen cents per dozen, while at
other seasons the fancy prices of from
| sixty to eighty cents are received.
Labor-saviug methods have now
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 dozens are sometimes caught.
A grassy shore or fiat is the favorite
resort for the sloughers, for there, to
n great extent, they are out of the way
of their inveterate enemies, cells and
large fishes. 1t is only at the season
of shedding its old for q new garment
that the crab grows and developers from
the small crustacean of the opening of
the summer to the 'channeler' at it's
close. From the fact that soft crabs
are shipped in smaller quantities, it
would be impossible to aggregate the
handsome results during single
season.
It is different, however, with the
hard crab. On many trips of the
Chester River steamers last season as
many as one hundred barrels of hard
crabs were shipped from Kent Island
alone, which sold at prices varying
from twenty-five cents per barrel TO
one dollar At an average of fifty bar
rels per day for three months sea-
son, deducting twelve Sundays, gives
n total of 400 barrels, and putting the
price at fifty cents per barrel, gives the
handsome result for this point alone
for less than three months actual work
OF $4,000.
With favorable conditions and good
luck attending, q single crabber will
wind up days work with $15 added
to seasons profits The trot line is
the most picturesque way of capturing
this summer delicecy. A line several
hundred feet in length has attached at
each end floater AT intervals of q
few inches are lines about eighteen
inches or two feet in length, all well
baited. The crabber, lying on his
stomach in his boat, with net in hand,
goes from end to end of this line, and
at each trip finds greater on less
number of the baited lines with crabs
on them. Large canneries have been
opened and the canned crab is now
known as commodity of commerce in
sections where live crab has never
been seen.-Washingto Star.