The notes 'are arranged under the following headings : 



1. History of the Cape Crawfish Industry. 



2. Experimental hauls of Crawfish in and around Table 



Bay. 



3. Observations at the Marine Laboratory at St. James to 



determine the breeding habits, &c., of the Crawfish. 



4. Geographical distribution of Cape Crawfish. 



5. Sexual differences in the Crawfish. 



6. Early Stages of the Crawfish. 



7. Habits of the larval Crawfish. 



8. Age, rate of growth, &c., of Crawfish. 



9. Enemies of the Crawfish, 



10. Food of the Crawfish. 



11. Migration and movements of the Crawfish 



12. Life history of the Crawfish. 



13. Preservation of the Crawfish. 



I. History op^ the Cape Crawfish Industry. 



The crawfish though a vahiable article of food, easily pro- 

 cured and occurring in large numbers at the Cape, seems to 

 have been practically overlooked in the early days. Frequent 

 reference is made to the " fine " Cape fishes, many of the 

 common kinds being mentioned by name, such as snoek, 

 steenbras, herring, harders, and even soles, but there appears 

 to be only casual reference to "some fine crawfish" presented 

 to Van Riebeek by two or three Hottentots. (See Precis of the 

 Archives, 4th September, 1852.) 



This neglect of a valuable article of food was typical of much 

 later days and its value does not seem to have been appreciated 

 except by the natives. This is all the more remarkable as its 

 representatives in Europe, the Langouste, Spiny or Rock 

 Lobster (Palinuni^ vulgaris), to which it is not inferior, is an 

 important article of food, particularly in France and on the 

 coast of the Mediterranean and its islands. In London it 

 commands a good price and its flesh is by many considered 

 quite as delicate as that of the true lobster. It is significant 

 also that in Natal a species of crawfish is found but is rather 

 rare, and is much more highly valued than the Cape crawfish is 

 at the Cape. 



About the time of Lamarok (1744-1829) the Cape crawfish 

 became known to the scientific world in Europe and is men- 

 tioned by this author in M.S. (in Museum, Jardin des Plantes) 

 under the name Paliiiiinis lalandii, that is, a species of the 

 Langouste (Paliiiiiriis vulgaris) so well known in France. It 

 is probably due to the fact that a crustacean, very similar to the 

 Cape crawfish, is so well known and esteemed in France that 

 some of the earliest enterprises in connection with the industry 

 at the Cape were French in origin. 



[C.P. 5- I3-] 



