336 



HISTORY OF FISHES. 



These crabs are of considerable advantage 

 to the natives ; and the slaves very often feed 

 entirely upon them. In Jamaica, where they 

 are found in great plenty, they are considered 

 as one of the greatest delicacies of the place. 

 Yet still, the eating of them is attended with 

 some danger ; for even of this kind many are 

 found poisonous, being fed, as it is thought, 

 upon the manchineel apple'; and whenever 

 they are found under that noxious plant, they 

 are always rejected with caution. It is thus 



and the monkeys are probably not less ingenious in their 

 devices. Brickell gives an interesting account, in his 

 History of North Carolina of the wonderful cunning ma- 

 nifested by the racoon in that country. It is fond of 

 crabs, and, when in quest of them, will take its station 

 by a swamp, and hang its tail over into the water, which 

 the ciabs mistake for food, and lay hold of it; as soon as 

 the racoon feels them pinch, he pulls up his tail with a 

 sudden jerk, and they generally quit their hold upon being 

 removed from the water. The racoon instantly seizes 

 the crabs in his mouth, removes them to a distance from 

 the water, and greedily devours his prey. He is very 

 careful how he takes them up, which he always does from 

 behind, holding them transversely, in order to prevent 

 them catching his mouth with their nippers. The chil- 

 dren of fishermen are often employed iu crab-catching, 

 as crabs are found on a rocky beach at low water, hidden 

 in crevices and under stones. A stick, with a hook at 

 the end of it, is inserted in their retreat, and the crab, 

 instantly grasping it, is drawn out. But only a small 

 number, and those not of the finest sort, are taken in this 

 manner, as the largest and strongest crabs betake them- 

 selves to the sea on the ebbing of the tide. On a shore 

 which is rugged, and abounding in cavities which afford 

 it a hiding pjace, the crab is also taken on a small scale 

 by another method. At the spot where they are most 

 numerous, the fisherman places a bait at the end of a 

 small cord, at the other end of which a stone is tied. 

 When the tide flows the crab seizes the bait, which it 

 drags to some hole, and the stone, which it draws after 

 it, closes the entrance. As a stone may be dragged in 

 the water, which cannot be moved by the same power 

 exerted in a less advantageous manner, the animal finds 

 itself a prisoner. The stone must be large enough to 

 close the entrance of the cavity in which the crab con- 

 ceals itself, and not too heavy to obstruct its movements. 

 But none of these methods are sufficient to provide for 

 an extensive demand. 



Crab-fishing, as generally pursued along the British 

 coasts, is conducted by two men who go out in one boat. 

 In addition to their boat they require creels, cruives, or 

 crab-pots, and lines. These creels (in the south of Eng- 

 land generally termed crab-pots) are made of dry osier, 

 and resemble basket-work. They are constructed on the 

 same principle as a wire mouse-trap, but the aperture in- 

 stead of being on the side is at the top. Within the 

 creel the bait, consisting of pieces of thorn-back or skate, 

 is fastened at the bottom, and the creel is then dropped 

 in some favourable situation, three stones of sufficient 

 weight being fastened in the inside to sink it. The 

 creels are sometimes sunk to the depth of twenty fathoms, 

 the fishermen being guided in this respect by the state 

 of the weather or the nature of the ground. In fine 

 weather they are dropped in from three to five fathoms 

 deep; but the crabs are chiefly to be found where the 

 bottom is rocky. A line is fastened to the creel, and at 

 the upper end of the line a cork is attached which floats 

 on the surface. By this means the place where the creel 

 is sunk is known to the fishermen, who usually set from 

 forty to fifty creels at one time. The bait is suspended 



with almost all the productions of those luxur- 

 ious climates ; however tempting they may be 

 to the appetite, they but too often are found 

 destructive ;and scarce a delicacy among them 

 that does not carry its own alloy. 



The. descent of these creatures for such im- 

 portant purposes, deserves our admiration ; but 

 there is an animal of the lobster kind that 

 annually descends from its mountains in like 

 manner, and for purposes still more important 

 and various. Its descent is not only to produce 



about the middle of the creel, and can easily be seen by 

 the crabs, which, entering at the aperture, find, like a 

 mouse in a wire-trap, that escape is impossible. The 

 difficulty of egress is increased by the entrance being over- 

 head. Lobsters, prawns, and shrimps are frequently found 

 captured in the same creel with crabs. When the fish- 

 ermen have sunk the whole of their creels, they have 

 still some time left to proceed farther out to sea for other 

 fish before it is necessary to visit them. Crab-fishing is 

 therefore a valuable addition to their means of livelihood, 

 for it does not preclude the pursuit of other fish at the 

 same season. The demand for this species of shell-fish 

 is usually good, and in the nearest large town on many 

 parts of the coast it is often fully equal to the 'supply. 

 Thither the fisherman's wife or some of his family may 

 convey the quantity taken ; and, if the market be already 

 abundantly provided, they can by means of the well-boxes, 

 although already caught, be kept' back for a time un- 

 til prices rise again. These are all advantages peculiar 

 to this fishery. When a few hours have elapsed, the 

 fishermen visit their creels, one of them row-ing and 

 the other keeping a look-out for the floats, and taking 

 out of the creels whatever has been captured. There 

 may perhaps be a dozen different owners of boats thus 

 engaged, and it is therefore necessary to have recourse 

 to some means by which they may each secure the fruits 

 of their individual industry without the risk of dispute. 

 This is accomplished by distinguishing their respective 

 floats by some peculiar mark by a notch in the side 

 a mark in the shape of a diamond cut on the top an 

 angle cut off, &c. c. The necessity of mutual protec- 

 tion points out to them the value of combination and 

 union, and the marks adopted by the fishermen to dis- 

 tinguish their floats are consequently the result of some 

 common understanding amongst them ; or otherwise, of 

 an instinctive regard to the means by which not only one 

 but all are enabled to pursue their calling in confidence 

 and security. 



Crabs are brought to market both in a boiled and in 

 a raw state. If the market be distant they are placed in 

 a well-box, which is attached to the outside of the fish- 

 ing-vessel, and in this manner they are brought to Bil- 

 lingsgate from parts so distant as Norway. The crab 

 is so tenacious of life that it does not lose its vital powers 

 until two or three days after leaving its native element. 

 May, June, and July are the months in which it is 

 generally out of season : but even in these months many 

 may be obtained which are in a perfectly good state for 

 the table. The male is of greater value than the female, 

 and has larger claws. The sexes are distinguished as 

 the cock and the hen. Before boiling, a good crab is 

 knowu by the roughness of its shell, particularly on the 

 claws. When boiled, the mode of ascertaining its good- 

 ness is by holding the claws tight, and shaking the body, 

 which will rattle, or seem as if water were in the inside, 

 if it be not in perfection. The time they are usually 

 boiled is from a quarter of an hour to a couple of hours 

 in sea-water, or in water in which salt has been infused. 

 Sometimes they are put into cold water, which is after- 

 wards heated to the boiling point. 



