The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-10-11
THE BIG CROP OF CRABS.

ket
 Crisfeld. Md, Sept. 27-There has never been such crop of crabs as this year has brought to this region, the largest crab producing territory in America. At the opening of the season they easily commanded a dollar and a quarter dozen, but now they are plen- tiful at six cents. and the market is simply glutted.
 It is difficult for one who never visi- ted this place to estimate the commer- ctal importance of the soft and hard, shell crab industry and the extensive manner in which crab breeding" is carried on.> Its growth has been phe- nomenal, and largely Instrumental in making this region one of the richest in the state of Maryland. The people here can match dollars with any class of la boring people in the United States, and most of their wealth comes from the crab industry.
 The soft crab, which is so abundant in the Chesapeake bay, is found on the At lantic coast from Massachusetts to Mexico, but at no place in. the world has so much attention been given to it's cultivation as here. The crab is the Beau Brummel of crustaceansSand no living creature gives so much attention to its wearing apparel. Compared to him in this regard the extremest dude leadsgs careless and easy life. If he were a member of the human family his tailors bills would consume his entire earnings. From the time he leaves his f shell he passes through more frequent transformations than probably any oth- CT member of the animal kingdom On emerging from the egg he looks some what like an impossible combination of those omnipresent products of New Jer- sey, the flea and the mosquito. f
 To speak more definitely, he has a fiat, irreguiarly shaped body, with long proboscis, longer tail, long swim ming appendages, with spine covered, toelike branches at the ends, with small eyes fixed flat on top of the head. He is not handsome, but decidedly dressy. At an early age he begins to shed his skin, and, having accomplished this feat sev- eral times. he begins to grow at, a rapid rate. Being ready to begin business as crab. he abandons swimming as a profession and takes to the bottom, goes foraging along the shores, or at, taches himself to the floating seawood. The crab literally grows by shedding. As fast as his garments grow too small for him he casts them off and comes out in a new suit. After he reaches the ed- ible size he sheds once a month, and men who make a business of raising crabs say there is no regular time for shedding. When his full growth is at- tained he ceases to shed, and indications are not wanting that he reaches a ripe old age, as specimens have been taken with full grown barnacies and oysters attached to their shells. After crab sheds he is the soft shell crab, so suita- ble for frying and so dear to the heart and palate of the epicure. A crab ap- preaching the shedding process Is known as "peeler," shredder" and buster" and unless the, crustacean is taken in hand immediately after she'd ding it quickly becomes a hardshell, and as such does not possess the market value of a soft-shell s@
 Several years ago it was the belief of d iufIIDGE Ol Illotl nClC tiEe1t biAC Sae1p could be cultivated and raised with pro- fit. Acting under this belief they began their work of impounding and breeding, being laughed at by their neighbors, who were under the impression that nothing could be done which would work better than the old way adopted for raising them. The experiments were made on a small scale, but to-day there are hundreds of acres of the low water and marsh lands covered with propagating and breeding floats. The farm or pound is inclosed by~a board fence, which serves as 8 breakwater, this being necessary, as high waves would break over and swamp them. From the time the crabs come out of the egg they are watched by experi- enced men who can tell almost to the minute when they are ready to shed. As soon as they shed the last time they are taken to the packing houses and prepared for shipment. There is noth- ing so difficult as properly to prepare for shipping & box or crate of crabs of the shofshell variety. They must be handled with the greatest care, for 1T one should die while being shipped the l chances would be that the entire crate would be spoiled Crabs are classed as 1 "culls." medium" and "prime," and the crates in which they are packed for \ shipment are provided with trays in which the crustaceans are'placed: be- tween layers of shaved ice and soft sea- weed. The weight of a piece of ice as large as @ pea on the head of soft crab will cause its death.
 The first shipments of any importance from this region were made in 1887, when the value of the catch was about eighty-four thousand dollars. In that year about seven hundred persons were engaged in the business here, and not more than four hundred boats were enl- ployed. There is no question that the output this year will reach five hundred