Evening star., 1897-04-16
CRABS AND. aTHE. MOON
.0IHg 49,
An Industry From Which Chesapeake Water
men Defive Profits.
Preparations f0rfsshe Season-Prices
Dependencies the Lunar
conattion..

by the almanac than by the weather con-
diticns of the past few days. will be well
ccmed by no class of people more heart
fly than the watertneh along the Chesa-
peake bay. The oyster season, which
closed, SO far as dredging for the biyaIvs
is concerned, on March Is, has been far
from profitable this year. The open win
ter and the deterioration in the quality of
large part of the oysters taken have COM
bined to rob the dredGers of their margin
of profit, and In many instances to leave
them worse off than when the season be-
gan. With the approach cf the warm days
the watermeh naturally turn their atten-
ton to fishing and grabbing. The latter
industry is annually growing in import
ance. and last year was the most successful
grabbing season ever known by the crab
oers OF the Chesapeake and its tributaries,
The expression, financially successful.
has meaning TO a large class of watermen
along the Chesapeake unknown in the city
The Chesapeake crab is now a commercial
commodity, which, while coming in third on
the list, the oyster coming first and the
scale fishes second in order of value, is Of
no mean importance. On the contrary to
put the annual income to the fishermen en-
Saged in the industry at q hundred thous-
and dollars would be to underestimate it,
This grabbing industry along the Chesa-
peake bay Is growth of recent years At
queenstown. Kent Island and Eastern Neck
Island, near the mouth of the Chester
liver. are the principal shipping points
for Kent and Queen Anne's counties, of
the soft crab, or the scarcely less appetiz-
Ing hard crab.
Dependent ON the Moon.
During the early season thousands of
dozens Of soft crabs are shipped from
these points, and, strange to say, the
prices obtained are governed by the phases
of the moon The sloughing season of the
crab is after the dark of the moon. in
creasing as the moon nears its full. Oper-
ated upon by the unvarying law of supply
and demand, as the supply becomes more
abundant at the moons full prices often
drop to 10 or l5 cents per dozen, while at
other seasons the fancy prices of from 60
to ~ cents are received.
Labor-saving methods nave 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 a great extent. they are out of
The way of their inveterate enemies, eels
and large fishes. 1t is only at the season
or shedding Its old for a new garment that
the crab grows and develops 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. 1t would be impossi-
BILE to aggregate the handsome results dur
ing single season.
1t is different, however, with the hard
crab. On many trips OF the Chester river
steamers last season as many as one hun
dred barrels of hard ,erabs were shipped
from Kent Island Tdalune, which sold at
prices varying from twenty-five cents per
barrel to one dollar., AT an average of
fifty barrels per day for three months
season. deducting twelve SUNDAYS gives
total of 4,40O b4rreIs. and putting the
price at fifty cents, per barrel, gives the
handsome result fof this point alone for
less than three months actual work of
5000. .-.. III u
How They Are Caught. ,r=.
With favorable conditions and good luck
attending. a single, crslDber will wind up
days work with, s15 added to his sea-
sons profits. The ttot hne is the mos. pic
turesque way. of CAPTURING this summer
deiicacy. A line stveral hundred feet in
leIgth has attached atateaeh end a f1oater.
AT intervals, of a few inches; are lines about
eighteen inches or. two feet in length, all
we'll 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 or less number of the
balted linas with Crabs on them. Large
canneries have been opened and the canned
crab is now known as commodity of COM
merce in sections where live crab has
never been seen. One of the largest of
these crab-packing establishments is To-
Gated at Oxford In Talbot county, and at
the height of the season is well worthy
visit of inspection by city residents