Evening journal., 1901-05-14
DEVEhOPMSAT Oh
CRAB INDUSTRY
Much Capital and LaOOr
Are Invested in the
Business


business began several weeks earlier this
year than ever before. Some houses have
been in operation for more than two
weeks Usually trot line fishing has not
begun until after the first shedding of the
crabs, the business beginning for the sea-
son with the catching and shipping OF
soft-shell crabs; but this Spring demand
for hard-crab meat came so early and was
so pressing that the packers had TO open
up 90 secure ana mold their trade only
small business, however, Is done as
yet Six houses are running. with an
average daily output OF about 20 gallons
to the house The crabs are small, but
very fat There will be soft-shell crabs
IN abundance during the increase OF the
May moon; that Is. after the 18TH the day
OF the next new moon.
Tho distribution Of crab meat territor-
lally from oxford is not near so extensive
as that of oysters Chicago IS the farthest
point away To which crab meat IS shipped.
Most OF It Is sold in the East, near the
seaboard. Philadelphia Is said to be the
greatest crab market I'm the world There
s great demand for hard-crab meat at
Summer resorts and 1t Is "a singular fact
ihat most Of this trade comes from sea-
sdo resorts and very little OF II from
mountain on other inland resorts.
This industry, which Is increasing I'm ex-
tent every year, is "a great thing for OK
ford A family of Ave persons, two adults
and three children, can make from $50 to
s26 a week, and some OF them even more.
for seven months I'm the year. The oyster
business takes the other five months
IL was an oxford packer who first made
q speciality Of fake meat packing It sep
arately from that taken from the body OF
the crab. The fake meat is the great
homeless muscle attached TO the two
broad hipper back nns-the steering gear
OF the crab--which is taken out In one solid
white piece and which easily separ-
ates itself into flakes II brings q per
cent. more than the other meat. The
prices now are 81 a gallon for fake and 50
cents for body meat
The disposal Of the omal remaining after
picking has been troublesome TO crab
packers. Thousands Of wagon loads of II
every season have been given to farmers
for manure and thousands Of tons dump
ed into the river Now. however there
Is TO be market for even this debris. C.
E. Morton, OF Dover. Del, has put up a
factory on jacks Point, I'm the suburbs OF
oxford, FOR making commercial fertilizer
of IT,
The average catch OF crabs per boat per
day during the season IS three barrels. and
the average price 50 cents a barrel. The
railroad freight weight Of a barrel OF live
crabs Is $50 pounds One barrel OF fat hard
crabs will yield 4 gallons or "a pounds
Tor picking 2is cents a pound is paid The
top shells are saved and carefully cleaned
for the dovilod crab trade Cleaners get
cents per hundred shells. Ice is one of the
chief items Of expense IN the crab-meat
trade. A packer doing business of ordi-
nary extent will use 5000 worth of Ice a
month and It VIII take for the same
house s worth OF coal week to steam
the crabs The cans cost 90 per cent.
more this season than ever before. A
crab picker VIII mako from s. to IS a week
working ten hours a day.
The packers buy tripe from the butchers
and cells from the fishermen all the year
round, ana salt them down for crab bait,
buying salt by the carload The crabbefs
Tor a packer doing an ordinary business
VIII use a hundred tons of bait In sea-
son. Each packer has his own crabbers.
whom he eluips with outfits and fur
nishes with bait, charging them up
against each crabber in settlement The
lpncker Is obliged to take the whole catch
of his crabbers during the season,
whether his orders require it or not