THE AMERICAN CRAB INDUSTRY 619 



Marketing. The larger boats, such as the scrape boats and dredge boats, which 

 are equipped with sails or power or both, usually deliver their own catch di- 

 rectly to the crab house. The smaller crabbers and those operating in isolated 

 regions sell their catches to buyers who make regular trips in boats called "run 

 boats" or "buy boats." A "run boat" has a captain who is merely the agent of a 

 dealer and works on a commission; whereas, a "buy boat" is owned and operated 

 by the dealer. In addition to buying crabs these boats usually sell bait. Most of 

 the dealer's boats in Chesapeake Bay operate from either Crisfield, Md., or 

 Hampton, Va. 



Soft Crabs. The crab houses which handle soft crabs and peelers are known by 

 the trade as "shanties," "shedding houses," and "soft-crab houses." These houses 

 are usually small wooden buildings built on pilings over the water. The peelers 

 are put into floats tied to stakes in the water nearby and left until moulting occurs; 

 the resulting soft crabs are then removed and packed for market. The floats com- 

 monly used in the Crisfield region are constructed of pine or cypress and measure 

 about 4 by 12 feet by 15 inches in depth. The sides are constructed of laths, placed 

 vertically with /4-inch spaces between them. The bottoms are made of 6-inch 

 boards and are continuous. In order to support the structure evenly on the water 

 an 8-inch wooden wing is constructed around the outside halfway from the top. 

 In other sections of Maryland other styles of floats are used, but they differ chiefly 

 in size and depth from those described above. 



When the crabs are placed in the floats, they are sorted into various lots. 

 "Creen" peelers which will not shed for several days are placed in certain floats; 

 crabs in the more advanced stages are put in others; and "rank" peelers or crabs 

 actually shedding or about to do so are placed in shedding floats. A "buster" is a 

 crab in which the back shell has cracked loose from the apron and will complete 

 the process of shedding within an hour or so. The crabs are not fed during their 

 confinement in the floats. Many of them die, the proportion depending upon the 

 weather. A sudden change in the temperature of the water often kills as many as 

 one-third. 



A freshly moulted crab is very soft and dies very quickly if shipped; therefore, 

 the crabs are allowed to remain in the floats for a few hours after shedding before 

 being removed for packing. The soft crabs are "fished out" of the float about 

 3 times each day by means of a small, shallow hand net. If they are not removed 

 for 48 hours after moulting, a tough leathery shell will have formed and the shell 

 will have become too hard for commercial use as a soft crab. Such crabs are 

 called "buckrams" and are sometimes sold; however, they are of little value for 

 culinary purposes as their tissues are watery and contain little meat. 



Soft crabs are always shipped alive. Before shipping they are sorted into 4 

 grades or sizes. The smallest of these are culls, which average about 3/2 inches 

 in width. Medium crabs vary from 4 to 4.5 inches in width; prime crabs range 

 from 5 to 6 inches; and jumbos exceed 6 inches. The primes are the most valuable 

 grade. These sizes are not fixed, but vary somewhat depending upon the packer, 

 the quantity of the catch, and the state of the market. In shipping to some markets 

 the large crabs are not graded as jumbos, but are included with the primes. 



Great care is used in packing soft crabs for they must reach their destination 

 alive. They are packed in shallow wooden trays about 3 or 4 inches in depth. 

 Each tray is of sufficient depth to accommodate 1 layer of crabs. A layer of sea- 



