WITH FISH-LINES AND NETS. IOI 



easily broken open with the nut-crackers. The 

 legs can be thrown away in times of plenty 

 To get at the inside of a crab with neatness 

 and despatch, turn up the under breastplate 

 and break it off. Then the whole back can be 

 lifted off, exposing a good deal of a yellow, 

 greenish substance, which is the fat of the 

 crab and its best relish. Having the crab di- 

 vested of underplate and back-shell, break it in 

 two, and the white meat will be readily ex- 

 tracted with a nut-pick. The muscles which 

 operate the crab's claws and legs constitute the 

 meat. A little practice will convince any one 

 that crabs are not to be despised. Their flavor 

 is incomparably finer than that of a lobster, 

 while the scientific opening of a crab has all 

 the charm of a surgical operation. 



To those who contend that crabs are deadly 

 poison, especially if eaten after dark, I can 

 only say that I have experimented upon my- 

 self and upon a number of other people's 

 children without unpleasant results. A crab 

 (cooked) is one of the favorite playthings of 

 babies in this neighborhood. It is said that 

 milk and crabs, when taken together, raise a 

 tempest inside of one. Again I may say that I 



