SE A-FISTIE RIES LABORATORY, 



•465 



crabs feed very little, and he records instances of such 

 crabs being covered with sand. Williamson's observa- 

 tions appear to support this statement. 



Baudouin* gives an interesting account of how the 

 phenomenon of autotomy is utilised by the fishermen of 

 Southern Spain. The common edible crab of that region 

 is Gelasimus tangeri. When the crabs are captured the 

 large claws are removed up to the fracture plane, and the 

 crab is put back in the water. Only the claws are sent to 

 market, the crab being returned to the sea to grow new 

 ones. 



The statistics published annually by the Fishery 

 Inspectors for England and Wales are very scanty, and 

 appear to have but little value in the elucidation of the 

 numerous problems connected with the natural history 

 of the edible crab. 



I give below a summary of the figures published in 

 the Annual Reports of the Fishery Inspectors for England 

 and Wales since 1887, merely giving the total number of 

 crabs caught in each year and their approximate value. 



Year. 



Total Number. 



Approximate Value. 



1887-1897 (average) 

 1898 



4,669,861 

 5,628,114 

 4,918,184 

 5,177,350 

 5,325,974 



4,923,536 

 4,580,318 

 5,106,345 



£55,082 

 £67,895 



1899 



£62,494 



1900 



£56,822 



1901 



£58,743 



1902 





1903 



£54,327 



1904 : 



£52,556 



1905 



£59,479 



1906 









* Baudouin, M. " Utilisation de l'autotomie chez un Crabe. 

 Pitvite scientifique (Ser. V), T. VI, No, 10, 



