104 With Fish-Lines and Nets 



The first class comprise crabs that have already 

 shed this year and have grown hard. The 

 second class are the "pocket-books," as the 

 fishermen call them, crabs that will shed no 

 more ; and the third class are those which may 

 shed their shells this year. For eating, the 

 crab with a cream-white color upon the under- 

 side is most esteemed. All the very large crabs 

 are likely to be "pocket-books," but some that 

 I have eaten were quite as good as any of the 

 white fellows. An expert can tell by squeez- 

 ing the crab whether the shedding period is 

 near. If within a few days of the time, the 

 crab is put into a car with others supposed to 

 be in about the same condition. It might be 

 thought that soft-shelled crabs ought to be 

 cheap if they can be hatched out in this easy 

 fashion. The trouble is that eternal vigilance 

 is the price of the soft-shell crab. Every 

 fisherman has to watch his crabs night and day 

 if he wishes to save his soft-shell crabs from 

 being eaten by the other crabs. Until within 

 five hours of the shedding, the crab retains his 

 activity and voracity, when he will fall upon 

 anything eatable; then comes a period of 



