20 CRAB INDUSTRY OF CHESAPEAKE BAY. 
dealers maintain, at points as conveniently located to the crabbers 
and to transportation facilities as possible, what are referred to in 
general as “crab houses.” 
SOFT CRABS. 
SoFT-CRAB HOUSES AND FLOATS.—If soft crabs and peelers are 
handled, the crab house is known as a ‘“‘shanty,” a ‘‘shedding house,” 
or a “‘soft-crab house.” It usually consists of a small wooden build- 
ing supported on pilings over the water (Pl. IV, fig. 2). The floats in 
which Me peelers are kept are tied to stakes in the water near-by. A 
wooden fence or breakwater is often built around the area in which the 
floats are tied (PI. IV, fig. 2). At one side of this is erected a sloping 
platform on which the floats may be dried. The soft crabs which are 
brought in by the crabbers are bought for from 1 to 5 cents apiece 
and packed for shipment in the house. The peelers are put into the 
floats and left until molting occurs, when the resulting soft crabs are 
removed and packed for market in the house. The floats commonly 
employed (PI. V, fig. 1) are made of pine or cypress and measure about 
4 by 12 feet by 15 inchesin depth. The sides are constructed of laths, 
placed vertically, with one-fourth inch spaces between them. The 
bottoms are made of 6-inch boards and are continuous. An 8-inch 
wing, also of wood, extends around the outside of the float halfway 
from the top. This supports the structure evenly on the water. 
This style of float is used throughout the Crisfield region and seems 
the best adapted to the purpose of any which were observed. At 
Oxford, Md., the floats are constructed in a similar manner, but are 
longer and are 2 feet in depth. Various other styles of floats are used 
at other points on the bay but in no great numbers. 
The floats are hauled up on the sloping platform (PI. IV, fig. 2) at 
intervals to allow their drying out and the cleaning off of débris and 
the sea growths which rapidly form upon them in the warm water 
of the summer season. Other floats take their place during this time. 
The crabs are sorted into various lots before being put into the 
floats. Some floats will contain “green” peelers, which will not shed 
for several days; others, those in more advanced stages; and still 
others, the “shedding floats,’ will be filled with ‘‘rank” peelers, 
that is, crabs which are actually shedding or almost ready to do so. 
A crab in which the “back shell’? has cracked loose from the apron 
is called a “buster” and will usually complete the process of shedding 
within an hour orso. No food is given the crabs while being kept in 
the floats, it not being considered practical to feed them for the short 
period during which they are kept there. Many crabs die while being 
kept in the floats, probably about one-third. The mortality is high- 
est during hot weather. It has been suggested that the floats be 
shaded, but this has never been tried, as far as could be learned. 
A crab when first molted is so soft that it would die very quickly 
if shipped. Therefore a few hours are allowed to elapse before it 1s 
removed from the float. If not removed for about 48 hours the crab 
will have become too hard for commercial use as a soft crab, a tough 
leathery shell having formed. Such a crab is called a “buckram.” 
Buckrams which are found while crabbing are brought in by the 
crabber and sold to be cooked. They are, however, of little value 
for such a purpose as their tissues are watery and yield little meat. 
