WITH FISH-LINES AND NETS. 95 



The crab is a stupid fellow about the traps 

 laid for him, and when hungry will hang to 

 a bit of fish even when lifted half out of water. 

 The later the season and the bigger the crab, 

 the more certainty that no crabs will escape. I 

 suppose that we catch our crabs in about the 

 same fashion that crabs are caught everywhere ; 

 tie a piece of fish or meat to a string, throw it 

 off a wharf or off your boat, and wait for a bite. 

 The crab, prowling about the bottom, seizes it 

 with his nippers, and begins his meal. By rais- 

 ing the bait a few inches from the bottom, a 

 person can tell, after small experience, whether 

 a crab is around or not. If the crab likes his 

 fare, he will hold on until he is drawn well up 

 to the surface, when, with a deft movement, the 

 scoop-net is run under him, and all is over for 

 that crab. All kinds of bottoms seem to suit 

 him sand, mud, even eel-grass. When caught 

 in a calm and able to drift slowly over the flats 

 which extend for a mile or more into the bay 

 from the narrow sand strip which separates us 

 from the ocean, one can catch crabs by the 

 dozen if quick with the net and not too afraid 

 of falling overboard. The favorite habitat of 

 the beast, however, is the channels which skirt 



