THE CKAB FISHERIES. 651 



On the Georgia coast the stone crab is said to attain an average weight of about 1 pound; 

 but specimens are occasionally found weighing as much as a pound and a half. They live in com- 

 munities in all depths down to 6 fathoms, on hard bottoms, consisting mainly of mud and 

 shells. They seldom wander a great distance away from their holes. The usual method of capture 

 is the same as that above described, but they are also sometimes dug out of their holes, or caught 

 incidentally on hooks set for the drnmflsh. 



About Fernandiua, Flu., the stone crab is found upon oyster beds and among rocks. 



The stone crab is said to range along the entire Gulf coast, but to be most abundant on the 

 western and southern coasts of Florida. It lives in the cavitros of rocks and in deep holes dug in 

 the sand. The inhabitants of the Florida coast, where it occurs, commonly look to it for a con- 

 siderable share of their food, and esteem it very highly. It is captured in the same way as upon 

 the Atlantic coast. To the westward of Florida it is much less abundant, averages smaller in size, 

 and is seldom taken for food. 



THE GREEN CRAB. The green crab (Carcinus mamas, Leach), which is readily distinguished 

 from all our other east coast shore species by its bright green color, varied with spots and blotches 

 of yellow, has only a limited range on our coast, from Cape Cod to New Jersey, but is one of the 

 most common of all the European crabs. In Vineyard Sound, Buzzard's Bay, and Long Island 

 Sound, where it often goes by the name of ' Joe Rocker," it is sometimes very abundant on rocky 

 or peaty shores near high-water mark, and is highly regarded as a bait for the tautog. In the two 

 former localities it is said to have formerly been much more abundant than at present, and to 

 have been collected in much larger quantities by the fishermen for bait. 



In some of the European countries where it occurs, it is extensively employed for food and bait. 

 On the English coast, according to White, " its predaceous habits inflict much injury on the salmon 

 fisher. Trout and mackerel are often reduced to a skeleton in a very short time, and salmon are 

 often rendered unfit for market by an unseemly scar, the results of its attacks. They are some- 

 times used as bait, especially while soft shell." 



THE LADY CRAB. The lady crab, sand crab, or squeaker crab (Platyoniclms ocellatus, Latr.), 

 as it is variously designated on different parts of the coast, occurs on most sandy shores from 

 Cape Cod to Mexico, and being predaceous in its habits and feeding largely upon dead fishes 

 and other animal matter, does efficient service as a scavenger. It is occasionally brought to the 

 New York markets in the winter time, and is said to command a high price when in the soft-shell 

 condition. It is also eaten at New Orleans, from which place we have received specimens pur- 

 chased in the markets, but the extent of the supply is unknown to us. Along portions of the 

 Atlantic and Gulf coasts, it may possibly be sold in connection with the blue crab, with which it 

 corresponds in range and to some extent in habits. It is smaller than the blue crab, but equally 

 abundant, and is said to be of good flavor. 



Along the southern New England coast, and probably elsewhere, it is frequently employed as 

 bait for the tautog and other species of fish. 



THE SPIDER CRABS. The spider crabs (Libinia emarginata, Leach, and Libinia dulia, Ed wards) 

 range from Casco Bay, Maine, to Mexico, living principally on muddy, but also to some extent on 

 sandy, bottoms in shallow water. They are occasionally used for bait, especially on the New Jersey 

 coast, but we have never heard of their being used for food. 



THE SAND BUG. The sand bug, bait bug, or beach bug (Hippa talpoida, Say), which is related 

 to the hermit crabs, though differing from them considerably in general appearance, burrows in 

 the sandy shores of our Atlantic coast from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico. On the coast of 

 Southern New England it is only locally abundant, occurring very plentifully in some localities 



