LOBSTER, CRAB, AND SHRIMP 271 



placed. When soft crabs are shipped long distances 

 in hot weather, many of them die. In any case, 

 they must be treated as a very perishable commodity. 



Some hard crabs are marketed alive; but, since 

 they are neither so perishable nor so valuable as soft 

 crabs, less care is taken in packing and shipping. 

 Usually they are shipped in barrels, with ice or 

 leaves or both. Most of the hard crabs are cooked 

 and the meat picked out of the shell. The cooking 

 is usually accomplished by steaming strap-iron 

 baskets full of crabs placed in a metal tank or cooker. 

 Steaming for thirty minutes changes -the color of the 

 crab from blue to bright red. After cooking, the 

 crabs are placed on the picking tables, where skilled 

 women pick out the meat from the body of the crabs. 

 Three kinds of meat are obtained, which are sold 

 separately. The lump meat, the muscles that operate 

 the swimming legs, commands the highest price. The 

 flake or white meat, which is next in value, consists 

 of the remaining muscles of the body with the excep- 

 tion of the claws. The claw meat is dark in color and 

 therefore is the cheapest. 



A barrel of crabs yields three to four gallons 

 (fifteen to twenty pounds) of meat. Crab meat is 

 packed in tin cans with perforated bottoms. The 

 cans are in turn packed in barrels with ice and 

 shipped by express. Some of the shells are cleaned 

 and washed and shipped with the meat for use in the 

 preparation of deviled crabs. 



Hard crab meat is also preserved by canning. This 

 industry is located principally at Hampton, Virginia, 



