THE CRAB FISHERIES. 647 



taken from them. The price paid lor this work ranges from 2 to 3 cents per pound for the meats, 

 which are weighed in pound lots, an examination being made to see that no shells remain among 

 them. For each lot weighed the picker receives a ticket or due-bill, redeemable on the following 

 Saturday night. The best pickers usually prepare about 25 pounds of meats a day, but the average 

 quantity is only about 10 pounds each. The refuse or hard parts left after removing the meats are 

 thrown through the opening in the center of the table into a sheet-iron barrel, which, as often as 

 it is tilled, is dumped into a scow to be carried off and sold as a fertilizer to farmers in the vicinity. 

 The shells, as the upper part of the carapax is generally called, and which were first removed by 

 the strippers, are cleaned and sold for making deviled crabs. 



The meats go from the weighers to the fillers, who put them into cans of two sizes, 1 pound 

 and 2 pounds, a fraction more being added to allow for waste. The quantity of meat in a 1-pound 

 can is said to be equal to thirty-eight crabs. They then pass to the sealer and finally to the bath, 

 after which they are vented, resealed, bathed again, and labeled. 



In order that the crabs may keep well in the cans, it is necessary that they be properly 

 cooked, and considerable skill is required to accomplish this in all cases. A great deal of trouble 

 has been experienced, in this particular, especially with regard to canned lobsters, and large 

 quantities of goods have occasionally spoiled in the cans without any apparent reason. It has 

 generally been traced, however, to insufficient or imperfect cooking, and success seems to depend 

 entirely on doing this one thing well. The method pursued at Hampton has been described to us 

 as follows : As above stated, the crabs are first thoroughly steamed as they are brought in alive, 

 and experience alone can dictate the length of time this process should continue. The first 

 bathing of the cans after they are sealed, continues for about half an hour, the cans remaining in 

 boiling water for that length of time. The cans are vented after this bathing, and at once resealed, 

 and then bathed for a second time for perhaps two hours, more or less. The process may be short- 

 ened, however, by the use of a chemical bath, consisting merely of a strong solution of chloride of 

 calcium in water, in the proportion of about 100 pounds of the salt to a barrel of water. 



SHIPPING-. For shipment two dozen cans are packed in a case, and the cases (of 2-pouud 

 cans) are sold to jobbers at the rate of $280 per dozen. A case of shells goes with each case of 

 cans, eight shells being allowed to a can. The trade is largely in the South and West, but con- 

 siderable quantities are also exported to European and other foreign countries, and an attempt is 

 being made to build up a large export trade. The packing house of T. T. Bryce also cans oysters 

 and vegetables in their season. 



CANNERY AT OXFORD, MD. A crab cannery has been recently established at Oxford, Md., 

 where about one hundred and seventy men are employed. The number of crabs used daily is said 

 to be from twelve thousand to fifteen thousand, but we have been unable to obtain a detailed 

 account of the industry. 



Statistics of the two crab-canning establishments at Hampton, Fa., for 1879. 



Amount of capital invested iu buildings, equipment, &c $5,000 



Number of crabs used during the year 6,000,000 



Value of the crabs at fishermen's prices $10,000 



XumbiT of cans produced, at the rate of 2 pounds to the can 84,000 



Gross receipts from sales $16,800 



. Enhancement in value of crabs during canning $6,800 



Number of hands employed, of which the grea.ter number are women 226 



W-iges earned by the men, per month $18 to $50 



\V;iges earned by the women,* per month $7 to $8 



Prices paid for crabs, per dozen Ic. to 3c. 



Prices paid pickers per pound of meat 2c. to 3c. 



* Very skillful workwomen as pickers sometimes make from $3 to $3.50 per week. 



