THE CRAB FISHERIES. 645 



in the bnjs and estuaries, and often in fresh-water rivers and lakes having direct communication 

 with salt water. At the approach of cold weather they retire iuto deeper water ami remain more or 

 less dormant until the lirst warm days or settled mild weather of the spring. Their iirst move in 

 the spring (about April) is to the grass-covered shoals, where they are said to feed largely upon 

 the spawn of tishes occurring there. All through the summer and until about November, they 

 inhabit the shallow waters near the shore, aetiug as scavengers upon decomposed fish and other 

 animal matter, and also devouring large quantities of small fish and fish spawn. At high tide 

 they approach nearer the shore than at low tide, the young being the most venturesome, and 

 spending the period of high tide at the very water's edge, hiding under patches of sea-weed, behind 

 and under logs and roots of trees and in the sand. They swim easily and rapidly at the surface 

 at times, and are very swift in their movements on the bottom. While shedding they remain 

 hidden in the sand or mud of the bottom or among sea-weeds. 



As they are so commonly distributed and so abundant, nearly every one living upon the shore 

 can obtain whatever supplies he wants for the mere trouble of capturing them, and they are there- 

 fore considered as having no commercial value outside of the larger cities. In fact, there is no 

 regularly established trade in crabs upon the Gulf coast, excepting in connection with New 

 Orleans and Galveston. The former city receives its supplies mainly from the marshes and lakes 

 of the Louisiana coast. Crabs are, however, used as food along the entire Gulf coast, and, to a 

 considerable extent, in the larger towns and villages. Those living directly upon the shore supply 

 their own wants, but the larger places are supplied by boys and negroes, who catch the crabs and 

 peddle them through the streets. The business is an irregular one, and no account of the sales is kept. 



Soft crabs bring a much higher price than the hard crabs, and are preferred when they can 

 be obtained ; but they are rarely taken in any quantity, and the sales are mostly of hard crabs. 

 According to a New Orleans correspondent, most of the soft crabs sent to that city come from the 

 coast lakes of Louisiana. 



The crab season extends more or less continuously throughout the year, unless the winter 

 be a very severe one ; but soft crabs are obtainable only from March until October. In the 

 early spring, before they come into shoal water, they are caught by being trolled from the deeper 

 water, by a bait of meat tied to the end of a long string. Each fisherman handles several of these 

 strings. Later in the season they are readily dipped out with a scoop-net from along the 

 shore. Large numbers are also taken in fish seines, but they are then regarded as an annoyance 

 and seldom retained as food. The crab fishery to supply the New Orleans markets is carried on 

 along the shores of the outer islands and in the marshes and lakes of the Louisiana coast. The 

 crabs are picked up in the hands or by scoop-nets from the outer edge of the beaches and from 

 among the marsh grass. Another method of capture is with trot-lines, the main line being stretched 

 along the beach at the water's edge, and the lateral lines thrown outward as far as they will reach. 

 One of these lines occupies the attention of two men. 



About Pensacola, according to Mr. Silas Stearns, " the catching of crabs is classed among the 

 sports. On warm summer evenings parties often set out for secluded portions of the bay shore, 

 where they pursue the crabs with torches and jigs or dip-nets, until tired. A hot midnight supper, 

 made up largely of the fish and crabs taken, terminates the fun." 



Hard crabs are sent to the New Orleans market alive in baskets containing about 5 dozens 

 each. They are sold to the marketmen at "><) cents a basket. Soft crabs bring from 10 to 15 

 cents each. No ice is used in the packing. 



Many crabs are taken about Galveston, Tex., for use in that city, and some are sent to the 

 interior towns of Texas and adjoining States It is predicted that in the course of a few years an 



