Evening journal., 1899-06-30

OF A BRANCH OF SHELL FISH
INDUSTRY IN MARYLAND.
Easton, Md. June 29.-The Talbot
crab business is more than usually |
liable this season to the crabbers, and
quite profitable also to the packers al
though the demand cannot be met !
Hard crabs are not so plentiful as
usual, but prices have advanced from
so and 60 cents a barrel to 81 and SIPS,
so that trotline crabber can make,
and is making, from $40 to sl2 week,
working five days, Saturday and Sun
day being omitted.
The price at the steaming houses for
standard crabmeat has advanced 25 per
cent. A prime quality is now separated
in the process Of picking, which sells
for 81 a gallon. It is the tenderloin
lying in the cavities where the two
broad fippers, or back fms Of the
crab are inserted. There are but two
small pieces of this meat in each crab.
With every gallon Of orabmeat 25 clean
ed topshells are furnished free, for
making deviled crabs. Five cents a
hundred is paid for cleaning them, and
at this work fast operator can make
s1.5O a day. In these crab-picking
houses the utmost attention is paid to
cleanliness, and everything about them
Is as sweet as dairy. A great deal of
ice is used. Every crab is alive when
put into the steam chest The pickers
are mostly white women. They become
very dcft-handed and expert, and can
make from 50 to s12 a week.
Thousands of barrels Of salted cells
and picked tripe are sold during the
season for bait. At the beginning of
the season cells are used now tripe bait
has the right of way. The stuff is
bought at wholesale by the packers and
sold to the crabbers Local fishermen
lput up the cells; Wilmington, Del, is
the headquarters for triDe. One hun
dred dollars will furnish a crabher-or
rather two crabbers, as they mostly
hunt in couples-with an outfit, consist
ing of a boat lines, bownets, barrels
and bait.
oxford and Tilghmans Island are
the principal crab packing and ship
ping points in Talbot county. At these
points the catch of tho crabbers from
the Choptank as far up as crabs swim,
f.,., g.. ,..,.f-r 90, t,c vl,ll,,t -fl. A..
lTrod Avon, Broad creek, Eastern bay
and nearby Chesapeake waters find a
ready market for every days work,
either for consumption by the packers
there or for shipment to Baltimore in
barrels. AT all the prominent wharves
There are agents for Baltimore commits
sion houses looking for hard crabs.
This great crab business has been the
development Of few years 1t was un-
til recently thought impossible to bring
{ the crabmeat business into competi-
tion with the lobster-meat business,
and the first attempts at crabmeat
packing resulted IN failure.
The full development of this indus
try has not yet come. In the process
; Of steaming, picking and packing hard
crabs there is much residuum which is
now a waste, as the means Of its COM
mercial utilization have not yet been
, discovered. For instance, in the do
, nestle use of crabs the yellow fat is
r carefully preserved, to be used in cook
r ing to enrich the white meat It Is
s most delicious in homemade crab
p soups, etc, taking the place Of butter
being superior to it in richness and fla
vor. But in preparing crabmeat for
shipment this yellow fat is carefully
d eliminatedandth thrown away. as its keep
3 ing qualities are poor and the smallest
d quantity will spoil the whole package
r of white meat Experiments are being
S made to reduce this rich and now
n valueless product of the crab into an
oil, or a crab butter. which will keep
The heart, liver, stomach and lungs
vulgarly known as dead men--of tn,
: crab are thrown away. Experiment.
e may develop these into a markctabl,
Y commodity, as well as the meaty hni
IS and the meatless shells.
o The marvellous expedition in trans
1t portation facilities assists the cral
business greatly. To be able to pu
Oxford crabs in Chicago thirty-tw,
hours, as can be done, means much il
l. he business.
n