The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-10-12

man is able to dispose of it at only about one-fOurth the price of a soft crab. '.snots" are seldom bought by dealers, but are returned to the fisher men who places them in his floats to become ''peelers.''
 The boxes in which crabs are shipped are made of thin pine boards and con- tain from two to three trays. Occa- sionally smaller boxes without any trays are used. By means of the trays the lower layer of crabs may be ex- amined without removing the upper ones, as was necessary in the boxes originally used. The present boxes, which cost from thirty to forty cents each, are made in several sizes, but the one most commonly used is eighteen by twenty eight by ten inches. From ten to thirty-five dozen crabs are packed in one box, the number varying accord ing to the box and the size of the crab, and necessarily decreasing as the sea- son advances, and the crabs grow larger.
 The work of packing crabs for ship ment is begun by covering the bottom Of the box to a depth of two or three inches with seaweed which has been thoroughly picked overFto remove all
 Jumps. On this soft bed the crabs are placed in a nearly vertical position, so close together they cannot move out of place. .SeaWeed or moss is then placed over them to protect them, and over this is placed layer of fine crushed ice. The other trays, after being packed in the same manner, are placed one above the other. and the lid is nailed on. The box is then ready for shipment. Some dealers, in order that their shipments may present more at- tractive appearance upon reaching the market, place piece of eheesecloth iul- mediately over the crabs, and the sea weed over that. By reason of the ex- treme care used in packing, the crabs can be kept alive from sixty to seventy hours after leaving the water, and crabs shipped from Crisfield to Canada l arrive at their destination alive and in
 good condition.
 In the early days of the fishery, "peelers'' were shipped from Deal Is- land in a large box holding five thou sand neither seaweed nor ice being | used. They were sent only as far as
 Baltimore, however. At present most of the crabs are shipped directly to the | consumer, and the packers do not hesi- tate to fill the smallest order. Compe- | tition among the packers is very keen, ! and considerable secrecy is observed regarding the destination of shipments. | When box is ready the dealers name and address are stenciled upon it, and tag bearing the consignees name and
 address is attached; but over the lat ter, so as to hide it completely, is l tackled piece of cardboard bearing the letter ''W" (wesD or'''EY' (east) This
 is known as a blind tag." and is not removed until after the box is in the express car, if shipped by rail, or in Baltimore, if it goes by steamer. While the great bulk of the catch, in
 fact nearly all of it, is shipped in the | manner described above, a small but i increasing number of soft crabs are be- ing put up in dramatically sealed tin | cans for indefinite preservation. For l this purpose the prime soft crabs are
 boiled and put up very much the same
 as any other animal product. From two to twenty-four entire crabs are put | into each can, the former number into a can holding about one-half pint, the l latter into one-gallon can. When put up in this manner the crabs retain much of their delicious flavor and should furnish an admirable substitute for the fresh article during the winter | season.
 The price received by the fishermen | for soft crabs, or those in the process of shedding, varies from one-half to four cents each, an average during the | season being about one and one-half cents. In buying, the dealer often
 counts three small crabs as two large l ones, or two small ones as one large
 one, according to thessize.
 LITTLE CHANGE IN THE CATCH EACH YEAR.
 | There has been no very material
 change in the catch of crabs through
 out the region, except a slight increase
 due to the greater number of crabbers each year. In 1901 at Crisfield and vii cinity the catch was light, while at Deal Island, Holland Island and neigh
 boring localities this was the mostpro. fitabe season known. Tn 1902 the catch, of crabs was small throughout the ] state. The fishermen attributed this to the severe winter of 1901-2. It is claimed by the residents of Deal Island that up to about 1882, when grabbing 1 for market was begun there, it would 1 take fisherman day to catch enough crabs for use as bait for ne-fishing | the next day. There are no legal re- strictions imposed upon grabbing in
 Maryland either as to the size of the
 crabs, or the season in which they can 1 be taken. Dorchester is the only
 county in which a license is required, a | fee of two dollars and a half being
 charged for the privilege of scraping
 No license is necessary for scoop-net-
 ting. Many fishermen are of the opin-
 ion that scraping for crabs over oyster l grounds is of material benefit to the latter, as mud would settle on the oys- 1 ters and would smother them unless
 removed by the scrapes; also. spat
 would be prevented from settling on the
 shells. The crabber regards scraping as
 a method of cultivating oyster grounds.
 New York Evening Post.
 CHAPTERS IN OLDEN TIMES.
 II,