I'.ULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISTI. COMMISSION. 155 



ill iK'arly cvi'ty l%ii.'j;li.sii lioiisclioM, Iiiiac ;ui <'\<'<'(Mliiii;I\' rnic, il;i\<)r, and 

 cause an a^rooablc break in llu^ iiionutony ul" Lhc Eugli.sli table with its 

 many meats. In Denmark there are liardly any smoke-bouses which 

 treat lierrinj;- as " kippers " on the English plan. But it is certain that 

 this method will soon be introduced, and doubtless with good results. 



53.— CRAIS FISniKRBES I»Z£OPO!iiI<:D IIV BEIVIVIARSi * 



Crabs ju'e very common in the Cattegat, and still more so in the North 

 Sea. One cannot pass a place on the shore where lobster fisheries are 

 carried on without seeing the broken shells and claws of large crabs. 

 But it is a rare occurrence for a fisherman to take any of these crabs 

 home and cook and eat them. One very rarely sees crabs offered for 

 sale in Denmark ; and it is a very unusual occurrence to see any one eat 

 such an "ugly" animal. 



This is to be regretted, because crabs have a fine llavor, and contain, 

 comparatively speaking, a good deal of food, if one only understands how 

 to get at it, which is not very difficnlt. All that is needed is to remove 

 the shell and take out all the soft parts and all the meat, all of which 

 can be eaten, and which, in order to form a savory dish, needs only the 

 same condiments as are used for lobsters. The claws also contain good 

 meat; and on the whole it must be said that the crab is a better and 

 more easily digested article of food than the lobster. It contains much 

 more food-matter than is generally thought; and a good-sized crab 

 almost fills a plate. It can therefore be imagined what a crab contains 

 which, as is freqneutly the case, weighs several pounds. As a general 

 rule it may be said that a crab which measures 4 inches across the back 

 contains one-fourth of a pound of meat. 



Itis to be regretted that crabs do not yield any income to our fishermen, 

 for the simple reason that they find no sale for them. There are plenty 

 of crabs, a great many more than the fishermen care for; and as a gen- 

 eral rule the lobster fishers catch ten crabs to every lobster. When 

 the lobster-ring or lobster-pot is taken out of the water, and the fisher- 

 men find that crabs, which are worthless to him, take uf) the room and 

 have eaten up the bait, he gets angry, and frequently gives vent to his 

 feelings by crushing the cra,bs against the side of the boat. This would 

 be difierent if crabs were of profit to the fishermen ; but it must be re- 

 membered that it is not the fishermen alone who cling to old customs 

 and prejudices. The crab is never mentioned on any Danish bill-of-fare, 

 and there is, therefore, no demand for them, and crab fisheries are con- 

 sequently not carried on. 



All this would be different, i f crabs could be exported. We think that 



* " Taslcekrdbhen." From the Danish Fiskeritidcndc, Copenhagen, September 22, 1885. 

 Translated from the Danish hy Herman Jacobsox. 



