Smyrna times., 1897-07-28
MARYLAND CRAB INDUSTRY.
inE EASTERN SHORE SUPPLIES EASTERN
CITIES WITH CRABS. INV
iiE REAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HARM
AND SOFT CRABS CLEARLY Ann
IEhESTINGLY EXPLAINED-TuF
BEST TIMES FOR CATCHING.

Cflsheld supplies, at all seasons +bo
markets of all the leadino citioo - a. t-:o
country with the largest quantities Of
oI@oS' Not few are caught in and
shlpped from Queen Anne's waters, hrt
ny lar the greater quantities are shin
peu lrom Crisfeld. There the crabs
are caught in the Chesapeake Bav and
are packed in crates and barrels Co.,
shipments. Over half the inbabitop+s
Vi the town make their livino, o,,+ -
craolng. Whenever a female crab is
scooped up In the crabbers net. If is oI-
ways thrown back into the bay; that
Keeps up the propagation, and hence
The supply is always adeonate for +bo
demand. 1t also accounts for the Ins-
elous quantity of the huge blue croh
caught in those waters.
The crabs are caught during every
month OF the year and in all stooos of |
development Millions of crabs oro
s1lpped north every year and the
maryland soft crabs meet jersey soft
crabs IN New York markets on eoroI
Ico'ing IN spite of the difference in the
distance they are carried. The crabs
III market IN the winter are alwavs
nard shells, and in fact, they wonld be
II they were brought from the trop;oo
Ihey are dredged or raked out of tbo
nuo IN the Chesapeake and its estuarias {
anu thousands of them are tal,an L,, {
oystermen. '''A0H ny
Inc crabs are dormant from fall until
spring, even in the Gulf of Mavioo I
where they are more abundant than S
else on this country's coast t
IN !, the spring, when they come ont Of v
.ne 4lud and masses of seaweed tbav I
90 right into the business of sbaddinn a
IL seems as if the crab had little else to Il
40 IN summer but shed it's she'll and 81
get a new one of larger calibre. The IL
nara crab first puts on a leatberv mn 81
iergarment' and is then known o. d,
conner In a day or two, when this U
'noerSkln Is completed, he is a she'd I'll
Ier and then he is fitted for halt bo. af
ause his hard she'll can then ba s+ri7 w
GU on, leaving the leathery integu- W
lent intact. '0o" -
Ii VnlS condition he is more yalubIe sh
nan soft crab owing to the constant ca
emand for bait and the fact tbo+ 4bo ca
are less frequently caught it
i%n SOFT crabs. In a single dav the III
Sneuoer parts his shell and becomes his
buster = Taken then he is the hest ch,
I bait, but left in the water a fou res
ours ne will throw off his she'll crawl
- " IL ana commence to swell and pos
retch out his elastic covering. then if Sts
that he is soft crab par excellence be
On the night of the day the crab di. Pc,
stS himself of his misfit shell. he is sew
tne oest condition for frying. In pro
other day, if he is not taken ont Of Iio,
water his new covering becomes sci,
e parchment hardens, so that If met cor,
'i'9 W pressure Then he is known tior
''buckler, and is of little use ex- M
1t as br oiler. II.
he ecrab-fshing business has beor mt +ior
"n at $500, 900 per year by the Fish peol
!, lniiSlon' and probably the estimate cl
Dy no means complete, as it is diff hav,
li' TO obtain accurate information to r
n the men engaged in any kind of com
ing. In Virginia and MARYLAND was
re are several big canning factories I'll
tlng up crabs, mostly for inland meal
eS' and the business is carried on and
'nsiyely. bon,
"ie caught IN summer by was
ing set line and the catch per man licen
average go dozen a day.-Ccntyc- sent
? Observer. ,roro