108 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
The men usually sell their catch to particular dealers, whom they agree to furnish 
during the season, 
11. Prices to fishermen. — Orisfleld, as a crabbing town, has considerable competi- 
tion among the fishermen of the upper Chesapeake, of Indian Eiver and other locali- 
ties in Delaware, of the Shrewsbury aud other rivers in New Jersey, and of other places 
ill the Middle States; and a large and constant supply of crabs in the principal mar- 
kets is thus insured. 
This condition tends to keep the prices low and also to prevent any marked fluct- ' 
nations in them during a particular year. 
From IJ to 2 cents was the range of prices in 1887 and 1888. The soft crabs bring 
the same prices as those that are about to shed, while there is no sale for the hard 
crabs among the dealers in soft crabs. Soft crabs aud “ peelers” that die before reach- 
ing the hands of the dealers are of course unsalable. 
B, — The Trade. i 
12. Dealers^ shipping -houses., etc.— Twenty-five firms were engaged in buying, shed- 
ding, and shipping crabs at or near Crisfield in 1888. j 
The buildings occupied for packing crabs are plain frame structures, containing ' 
but one room, most of which are in the immediate vicinity of Crisfield, although a few j 
are a short distance away, on the adjoining marshes. The houses vary in price from i 
$50 to $500, about $100 being the average value. Some of them are constructed on | 
piles, but the larger number of them are on land, aud many have dirt floors. j 
From two to eight men form the complement of each shipping firm, the number in i 
each house varying somewhat with the season and the amount of business transacted, i 
The outfit of the dealer is simple and the furnishing of the packing-houses are 
meager, A.11 that is required to carry on the business are shipping-boxes, with trays; : 
sea- weed and ice, in which to pack the crabs; and outside the houses, floats, in which 
the crabs are temporarily placed while shedding. 
13. The fioats or pounds. — These are made of light planks and scantling, with plain | 
board bottoms and latticed sides. The size varies somewhat, but the largest number I 
are 20 feet long, 3 to 5 feet wide, and 15 inches deep, with a projecting ledge at half i 
their height, corresponding to the water-line (see plate XLiii), The average value of j| 
the floats is $2. I 
About 25 floats, each with an average capacity of three or four hundred crabs, is ^ 
the usual quota of each dealer, but as many as 60 or 80 are owned by some of the larger 
shippers. 
They are visited in boats three or four times daily, and the crabs that have shed ^ 
since the last visit are taken out. The floats of each shipper are usually inclosed by <■ 
a board fencing, which serves as a breakwater. This is considered necessary, as high ( 
waves would otherwise break over the pounds and swamp them. The inclosures of 
some of the shippers are an acre or more in area. I 
14. Mortality of crabs. — The one factor which, more than any other, tends to j 
reduce the profits of the shippers, and indirectly the receipts of the fishermen, is the h 
high death-rate among the impounded crabs. Owing to the injuries which many crabs ■ 
receive in being caught aud handled, aud, in a measure, to the severity of the shedding ' ; 
process, a comparatively large number of crabs die after being purchased by the deal- I 
ers, and are a total loss. As an illustration of the uncertainty of the business aud of i 
