With Fish-Lines and Nets 101 



which it was; if the surf was dangerous, the 

 apple crop poor, and the potatoes rotten, the 

 fault was laid to the blizzard, that awful visita- 

 tion, when, as the Cap'n says, "New York 

 did n't hear from us for more than a week." 



The crab is a stupid fellow about the traps 

 laid for him, and when hungry will hang to a 

 bit of fish even when lifted half out of water. 

 The later the season and the bigger the crab, 

 the more certainty that no crabs will escape. 

 I suppose that we catch our crabs in about the 

 same fashion that crabs are caught everywhere ; 

 tie a piece of fish or meat to a string, throw it 

 off a wharf or off your boat, and wait for a 

 bite. The crab, prowling about the bottom 

 seizes it with his nippers, and begins his meal. 

 By raising the bait a few inches from the bot- 

 tom, a person can tell, after small experience, 

 whether a crab is around or not. If the crab 

 likes his fare, he will hold on until he is drawn 

 well up to the surface, when, with a deft move- 

 ment, the scoop-net is run under him, and all 

 is over for that crab. All kinds of bottoms 

 seem to suit him sand, mud, even eel-grass. 

 When caught in a calm and able to drift slowly 



