770 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



good, healthy ones, well fed and properly dried. I generally employ 

 small wicker baskets each holding GO to 120 craw-fish, so that they are 

 not piled too high on top of one another. First put a layer of straw 

 in the basket and then the craw-fish, one at a time, laying them on 

 their feet, and if the basket should not be quite full, pack it with 

 straw till full. The packing is to prevent the craw-fish from turn- 

 ing when the baskets, as will frequently happen during a long journey, 

 are thrown about a good deal. If the craw-fish falls on its back during 

 the journey, it will die, as it works with its feet till it becomes exhausted. 

 On their arrival at the place of destination the craw-fish are taken out 

 of the baskets and placed, again on their feet, in a large vessel, which 

 should be kept in a cool place, best in acellar, but not be covered up. 



It is an old belief that craw-fish are not good in months whose names 

 contain the letter r; but I have found that craw-fish when properly cared 

 for and well fed are good at all times, for I have sold and shipped them 

 during every month in the year, and have never had any complaints. 



An important question remains to be answered, viz, whether artificial 

 craw-fish culture in basins is remunerative. Experience has taught me 

 that craw-fish increase and develop better when in a free state than in 

 boxes or basins. To start a somewhat remunerative craw-fish establish- 

 ment entails considerable expense, and does not yield the expected re- 

 sult. In such establishments the cold of winter kills most of the craw- 

 fish, as they cannot find holes and other places of refuge as when in a 

 free condition. If strong ice forms, as happened this year, the craw-fish 

 are suffocated in the basins ; the boxes are soon frozen over on the sides 

 and top, and as soon as the admission of fresh air is stopped, the craw- 

 fish die from suffocation. 



I would, therefore, recommend the following method : From rivers and 

 lakes containing but few craw-fish the female craw-fish should not be 

 removed ; the eels and pike should, if possible, all be caught, and the 

 young craw-fish, large numbers of which will make their appearance in 

 a year or two, must be well and regularly fed with meat and turnips ; 

 during the fourth year all craw-fish which have reached the length of 10 

 centimeters should be caught and placed in large tanks or boxes pre- 

 pared in the following manner : The bottom and sides are best made of 

 thin boards, which should not be close together, but have narrow inter- 

 spaces between them, not large enough to let a small craw-fish escape. 

 The object of having such interspaces on the bottom is to give free egress 

 to the slime, mud, sand, &c, which will get into the box, and thus to 

 keep it clean at all times. The interspaces on the sides have this ad- 

 vantage that fresh water will be constantly passing through the boxes, 

 which of course is an essential condition of keeping the craw-fish alive 

 and in good health. In these boxes, through which fresh water must 

 be kept running all the time, the craw-fish are fattened. When ice forms 

 in winter, the boxes must be let down into the water, so that the open- 

 ings on the sides do not freeze over. 



