CHAFIER XIV 



THE CATCHING OF LOBSTERS, 

 CRABS, AND WHELKS 



Fish that are caught in pots The lobster Colonial fish The Bergen 

 and Christiansund lobster-fishery Cray-fish Crabs The hermit 

 Land crabs Tropical and fresh-water crabs Crabbing Whelks 

 Fishing with " trots " Whelking as a trade The boats The 

 pots The fish. 



C ESTERS, crabs, and whelks are fish that, on 

 account of their habits, their formation, and their 

 general preference for deep water, require special 

 gear before they can be taken in the large quantities that 

 the market demands ; the name given to that form of 

 gear is pots. 



None of these animals possess a very high degree of 

 intelligence where escape from captivity is concerned, and 

 all of them are as greedy and insatiable as sharks ; there- 

 fore the trap that will catch them need not be a marvel 

 of ingenuity. A lobster-pot is generally a wicker cage 

 with a small opening ; sometimes it is dome-shaped, some- 

 times oval ; often, again, it is formed like a soiled-linen 

 basket with the middle or waist narrowed down to about 

 a third of the original circumference. The lobster's own 

 curiosity is sufficient to encourage it to "step inside"; 

 but to stimulate desire, a piece of meat or fish is laid or 



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