REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHSRIES. 73 



car, where the}' are kept in separate compartments until the shell 

 breaks open, then they are transferred to another car where they are 

 kept all together, and from which they are picked out as soon after 

 they have finished moulting as possible, and are packed and shipped. 



Having obtained the crabs in the required soft-shell condition, 

 it is of equal imporance to keep them alive in this condition until 

 they pass into the hands of the chef. Under natural conditions the 

 shell will harden in a very few days. To obviate this an ingenious 

 method is employed. At the proper time, soon after they have shed, 

 the crabs are packed in damp seaweed or eel grass, and there they 

 will remain alive for a long time, but the shell wall not harden. If, 

 however, seawater be added to the seaweed so that it becomes wet 

 instead of merely damp, the shell commences to harden and what is 

 known as the "paper-shell" crab is produced. 



The crabbing season extends from the first of June until the last 

 of September, but the crabs are sometimes caught as early as the 

 last of May and as late as the beginning of November. The better 

 summer resorts furnish an excellent market at high prices. New- 

 port, Saunderstown, and Jamestown pay about $1.00 per dozen. 

 The regular price in the Providence market ranges from about 50 

 cents to 75 cents. 



The soft-shell crab industry is carried on to a greater or less ex- 

 tent in New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, and South Carolina. Be- 

 sides the paddler crab, at least four other species are used in this in- 

 dustry, viz., the lady crab (Platyonichus ocellatus), stone crab 

 (Menippe mercenarius) , and rock crab {Cancer irroratus). 



