394 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. 



In Japan, among the crustaceans used for food, figure 

 first the crabs, which are called kagni. They are com- 

 mon and belong to different species, some of which attain 

 a large size. The lobster is also caught, but does not 

 attain so large a size as in Europe, indeed it may pro- 

 bably be another species. There are a great quantity of 

 shrimps and prawns of various kinds, some of which 

 attain a large size. 



Crahn are caught like lobsters in great quantities on the 

 coast of Norway, in traps or casks prepared for the pur- 

 pose. Although large and fine they are little esteemed, 

 being never eaten on the coasts, and fetch but low prices 

 in the inland towns. They are chiefly chopped up for 

 bait. Lately the Norwegians have commenced to pre- 

 serve the crab in hermetically sealed tins. Specimens 

 of this new product were shown at the Paris Exhibition 

 in 1878, and there is ground for the hope that, thanks to 

 this preparation, the crab will in time find a foreign 

 market. Two to three million crabs are sent yearly 

 from Finland to Russia and Sweden. 



In the London market crabs boiled sell at from Is. 6d. 

 to 4s. each, according to size. In the San Francisco 

 market they fetch about Is. each ; and at Victoria, 

 British Columbia, they retail at 2s. to 3s. the dozen. 

 The excellence of the crab is mainly due to the enormous 

 development of the liver, which occupies the two anterior 

 sides of the carapace, and is deemed bv most the " tit- 

 bit." 



The chief time for the sale of the great crab (Cancer 

 pagurus, Lin.) is May to August. The demand falls off 

 in October and is not resumed till March, as in the 

 winter they are watery. Crabs are brought to market 

 both in a boiled and in a raw state. The male is of 

 greater value than the female, and has larger claws. 

 Before boiling, a good crab is known by the roughness 

 of its shell, particularly on the claws. When boiled, 

 its quality is tested by holding the claws tight and 

 shaking, the body, which will rattle, or seem as if water 

 were in the inside, if it be not in perfection. 



