94 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 



impossible to say whether the crab yelled and jumped himself, or 

 whether the angler uttered the Indian war whoop and threw the crab. 

 The latter is the most probable. 



Crabs begin to swarm into the shallow bays and creeks of the 

 coast about the first of June. When they have reached their sum- 

 mer home they all remain quiet for a space. Then each crab selects 

 some spot best suited to his taste and becomes motionless, and soon 

 his upper shell shows signs of swelling about its back edge. After 

 a time this edge becomes wholly freed, and now the crab must free 

 his claws and legs from the hard shell. This he is enabled to do by 

 an opportune softening of the muscles. The crab withdrawing 

 from his shell settles down in the soft mud or sand and does 

 its best to escape observation, for it is now in a helpless condition. 

 Where there is a great deal of eel-grass and sea-cabbage, as in the 

 Harlem River, the crab will cover himself in it and it will take a 

 practiced searcher to spy out his retreat. Along the Harlem mud 

 flats at low tide the boys go "treading for soft shells," and gener- 

 ally get more cuts on their feet from old bottles and tomato-cans 

 than soft shell crabs ; though a dozen are often taken in this way on 

 one tide. About twelve hours after it has cast its shell the soft skin 

 with which it was first covered has become like writing paper, 

 crackling like it when compressed. 



Twelve hours or so after, this skin has become like buckram in 

 texture, and on account of this the crab is called a " buckram," as 

 before it was called a " paper " crab. In all those stages the crab is 

 helpless, but after the lapse of forty-eight hours he is again able to 

 take care of himself. 



The above are approximately the periods in which this strange 

 transformation takes place, but it is dependent to a certain extent 

 upon the weather. A disagreeable spell will retard it for days. The 

 best of all crabs to eat are the soft shells ; they are fried in butter, 

 having been previously rolled in cracker crumbs. 

 * Now as to catching the wary fellows. This is best done in shal- 

 low water not over ten feet in depth, and from a skiff. A round- 

 bottomed boat on a crabbing expedition will only prove an incon- 

 venience. Have about a half dozen lengths of cord not more than. 



