THE CRAYFISH AND ITS ALLIES 113 



Edible Lobsters* The American lobster, Homarus Ameri- 

 canus, differs little in appearance from the European lob- 

 ster, H. vulgaris. Formerly the American lobster attained 

 the greater size, but the excessive catches of our species in 

 the last few years are rapidly doing away with this differ- 

 ence. The so-called Norwegian lobster finds its way into 

 European markets, while on our Californian coast the so- 

 called spiny lobster or sea-crayfish takes the place of our 

 true Atlantic lobster, and, like the latter, is said to be in 

 danger of extermination on account of overfishing. 



Edible Crayfish. The nearest fresh- water ally to the 

 lobster the crayfish has not yet attained the pop- 

 ularity in our markets which it possesses in Europe, 

 particularly in France. So much is the crayfish esteemed 

 in Paris that the enormous crayfish farms throughout 

 France are unable to supply that city, consequently cray- 

 fishes are imported in considerable quantities from Ger- 

 many. In America, it is our French population mainly 

 that makes a market for the crayfish. Astacus nigres- 

 cens is the crayfish sold in San Francisco markets. On 

 the Atlantic coast, New York and New Orleans are the 

 main centres of consumption. Cambarus affinis, taken 

 from the Potomac River, is the crayfish found in the spring 

 in the New York markets. Later in the season this 

 market is supplied by Q. virilis and immunis, which are 

 shipped from Montreal, Milwaukee, and other Western 

 cities. 



Edible Crabs. Of the crabs which reach our market 

 the most important is the blue crab. These crabs are 

 kept moored in floating boxes until they have moulted, 

 and then they are sent to market as soft-shelled crabs. 



