THE CRAB INDUSTRY OF MARYLAND. 497 
Boats.—The boat used by the crabber must necessarily be light, for 
_ when hauling in the line hand over hand the boat is pulled along at 
the same time. The boats vary in length from 12 to 24 feet. At 
Cambridge and Crisfield a lighter and cheaper boat is used, while at 
Oxford and other localities there is a growing tendency to build boats 
suitable for both crabbing and oyster-tonging. These average 25 feet 
in length, 2 feet deep, and from 5 to 6 feet wide, and have a dead-rise 
bottom. Boats of this character cost from $40 to $50, and are desig- 
nated skiffs and batteaus. 
Doudlers.—V ery oftena male and female crab when mating are taken 
together on a trot line; this usually occurring when the female is 
entering the shedding stage. The pair are called ‘‘doublers,” or 
*““channeler and his wife.” In most localities where hard crabs are 
taken there are one or more firms handling soft crabs—that is, those 
taken on trot lines as ‘‘doublers.” At some places there is no sale for 
the female thus taken, and she is returned to the water, while in other 
localities she is sold along with the hard crabs at the same price. The 
proportion of **doublers” taken varies in different localities from 1 in 
100 crabs to 1 in 10, and they are generally taken on grassy bottoms. 
A “‘channeler,” or any large male hard crab, is called a ‘‘ Jimmy” or 
** Jim crab.” 
Size of crabs.—The size of a market crab varies with the season and 
also with the locality. Early in the season 500 will filla sugar barrel, 
while later from 200 to 300 is sufficient. The average weight of a 
single crab is about one-third of a pound. Two were taken near Cris- 
field early in 1902 weighing 1 pound each. The smallest crabs that 
are ever taken in that locality are about the size of a man’s finger-nail. 
The supposition that crabs spawn in the ocean near Cape Charles would 
account for the fact that no smaller ones are taken. 
F’loats.—F loats are not used among hard crabbers except in the case 
of dealers and those shipping their own catch. In localities where 
crab meat is picked and utilized, floats are used only by dealers hand- 
ling peelers or the females taken with the *‘ channelers” while mating. 
The floats are similar to those used in the soft-crab trade, though wire 
is sometimes substituted for laths in their construction. It is claimed 
that the wire does not catch filth from the water so quickly as the 
lath floats, and it is more easily brushed off. At Mount Vernon every 
crabber has two floats, so that he may place a day’s catch in one and 
allow it to remain until time for shipment, and reserve the other float 
for the next day’s catch. It is claimed that a day’s captivity lessens 
the likelihood of the crabs attacking and maiming each other. 
Disposition of catch and price.—The crabs are disposed of in differ- 
ent ways. Probably the largest proportion is sold to factories for the 
extraction of the meat. The remainder is either shipped alive by the 
crabbers or sold to dealers, who also ship it in a live state. In some 
