62 



CRABS. 

 Price. 



Railways. 

 Colour. 



Food of. 

 LOBSTERS. 



Food of. 



Supply of. 



French. 



Berried. 



Store pots. 



Food of. 



CRAY-PISH. 



Value of. 



crabs ; all light crabs ; and and all undersized crabs. Can give no idea of the 

 rate of growth in a crab. The price of crabs has risen for the last 30 years. 

 The price of crabs 30 years ago was lis. to 155. a dozen. The price now is 

 about double, 25s. a dozen. The Start crabs are the dearest, as they are 

 superior fish. The increase of price has been due to the increased demand. 

 The railways have created a competition among other places ; while before the 

 railways the fish were sent by van only to London. Does not believe that 

 there are fewer crabs in the sea than there were, but that in some places they 

 are not so large. Is, therefore, in favour of preserving the small crabs. The 

 crabs at Scilly are small, black, light, and not fit to take. You can catch 

 good crabs where you get good lobsters and cray-fish. The good crabs are off 

 the sand ; the good lobsters are off the rocks. Cannot say what is the food of 

 crabs, but believes they will eat shell fish. Lobsters will eat oysters. Has 

 proved this. 



The principal supply of lobsters is from France and Ireland, as well as from 

 the Start to the Scilly Islands. To the west of Mount's Bay there are large 

 quantities of lobsters. The lobsters have not fallen off in size and number. 

 The size differs according to the ground. Gets large lobsters from Brest, and 

 thinks the Brest lobsters very good. A tale lobster is 11 inches. There are 

 now 22 smacks at Hamble, and there used, 40 years ago, to be only six or 

 seven. The smacks are from 45 to 80 tons. The smacks are all welled 

 smacks, and collect the fish from the fishermen. Imagines from this fact that 

 the trade is not falling off. Is in favour of returning the small lobsters to 

 the sea. An 8-inch lobster is too small to sell. Gets berried lobsters every 

 month of the year. Gets most in May and June, but there is very little 

 difference. Has seen berried hens as small as 9 inches. Thinks that the 

 berried hens should not be returned to the water, but sent to market. They 

 are more valuable than other lobsters, especially during the salmon and turbot 

 season, and when berried are in the very best condition for food. The berries 

 are used for sauce. If a law was made enforcing the return of berried hens it 

 would not be obeyed. The fishermen would strip off the berries, and after 

 12 hours an expert could not tell whether the berries had been removed. Is 

 not in favour of a close season for lobsters. The greatest demand for lobsters 

 is during the London season. Very few lobsters are caught in the winter 

 season. A lobster in a welled smack will keep for a fortnight or a month. 

 But an average passage is a week or ten days, except in very hot calm weather. 

 In hot, calm weather they hang the lobsters overboard in nets. A welled 

 smack in one voyage will carry 18,000 to 20,000 small lobsters. But an average 

 voyage is 3,000 to 4,000. Has reservoirs for lobsters. They contain about a 

 quarter of an acre of water, seven feet deep. There are sometimes 20,000 or 

 30,000 lobsters in these pits. They are not fed. They are sent away continually. 

 A lobster is never fed, but never kept for any time in a reservoir. Some years 

 ago he did feed them, but then the lobsters died. Thinks that lobsters 

 would do very well in a pond for some months, if the soil suited them, and 

 they had plenty of fresh sea water. If they die at all, they die in the first week 

 in the pit. Thinks they live on any animalculse that may come in. Once 

 weighed a lobster when put into the pit, and found that it increased in weight 

 in the two months it was in the* pit. Plugging lobsters is a recent practice, 

 and not practised. Lobsters and crabs should both be nicked. 



Sees that it was stated at Fishmongers' Hall that cray-fish are extinct. 

 The fact is that the cray fish are all sent to Paris. Londoners won't buy them. 



{By Mr. Walpole.) There are 22 smacks at Hamble; eight belong to him, 

 eight to Captain John Harnden, and six to Messrs. Warner. His own smacks 

 produced in 1875 : — 



Crabs and cray-fish - 



Lobsters _---.. 



In 1876 to 31st October, 



Crabs and cray-fish - 



Lobsters - 



Since the 31st October, 1876, 



Crabs and cray-fish - 



Lobsters - - - 



All crabs and crayfish come from the English coast, 

 from France and Ireland. 



108,499 

 88,296 



98,545 



86,585 



6,054 

 1,239 

 The lobsters chiefly 



