THE CRAYFISH FISHERY. 



797 



often. During the shedding period no crayfish should be shipped, as then they cannot stand any 

 pressure, and die easily. Care should also be taken not to pack a dead crayfish among the live 

 ones. The main point in shipping crayfish is to select good, healthy ones, well fed and properly 

 dried. I generally employ small wicker baskets each holding sixty to one hundred and twenty 

 crayfish, so that they are not piled too high on top of each other. First put a layer of straw in the 

 basket, then put in the crayfish, one at a time, laying them on their feet, and if the basket should 

 not be quite full, it should be packed with straw till full. The packing is to prevent the crayfish 

 from turning when the baskets, as will frequently happen during a long journey, are thrown 

 about a good deal. If the crayfish falls on its back during the journey, it will die, as it works 

 with its feet till it becomes exhausted. On their arrival at the place of destination the crayfish 

 are taken out of the baskets and placed (again on their feet), in a large vessel, which should be 

 kept in a cool place, best in a cellar, but not be covered up. 



" It is an old belief that crayfish are not good in those months the names of which contain the 

 letter r; but I have found that when properly cared for and well fed they are good at all times, for 

 I have sold and shipped them during every mouth in the ye ;r, and have never had any complaints. 



"An important question remains to be answered, viz, whether artificial crayfish culture in 

 basins is remunerative. Experience has taught ufe that crayfish increase and develop better when 

 in a free state than in boxes or basins. To start a somewhat remunerative crayfish establishment 

 involves considerable expense, and does not yield the expected result. In such establishments 

 the cold of winter kills most of the crayfish, as they cannot find holes and other places of refuge 

 as when in a free condition. If strong ice forms, as was the case this year, the crayfish are suffo- 

 cated in the basins; the boxes are soon frozen over on the sides and top, and as soon as the admis- 

 sion of fresh air is stopped, the crayfish die from suffocation. 



"I would therefore recommend the following method : From rivers and lakes containing but 

 few crayfish the females should not be removed ; the eels and pike should if possible all be caught, 

 and the young crayfish, large numbers of which will make their appearance in a year or two, must 

 be well and regularly fed with meat and turnips; during the fourth year all crayfish which have 

 reached the length of 10 centimeters should be caught and placed in large tanks or boxes prepared 

 in the following manner: The bottom and sides are best made of thin boards, which should not 

 be close together, but have narrow interspaces between them, too small to let a small crayfish 

 escape. The object of having such interspaces on the bottom is to give free egress to the slime, 

 mud, sand, &c , which will get in the box, and thus to keep it clean at all times. The interspaces 

 on the sides will have this advantage that fresh water is constantly passing through the boxes, 

 which of course is an essential condition of keeping the crayfish alive and in good condition. In 

 these boxes, through which fresh water must be kept running all the time, the crayfish are fat- 

 tened. Wheu ice forms in winter the boxes must be let down into the water so that the openings 

 on the sides do not freeze over. " 



3. STATISTICS OF THE CRAYFISH FISHERY FOR 1880. 

 Table showing the quantity and value of the crayfishes fallen for market in 1880. 



