Crab, shrimp, and lobster lore: Gathered amongst the rocks at the sea-shore, by the riverside, and in the forest

"Crab, shrimp, and lobster lore" by William Barry Lord is a popular natural history compendium and practical manual written in the mid-19th century. It explores the lives, habits, and habitats of crabs, shrimps, lobsters, and crayfish, mixing vivid anecdote and travelogue with fishing methods, collecting tips, culinary notes, and folklore.

The opening section invites the reader on seaside rambles and coral-reef excursions, then explains crustacean anatomy, especially exoskeletons and molting. It moves from the edible crab’s history and cookery to practical capture methods—pots, hooks, knots, lines, reels, leads, and safety tricks—before offering guidance on selecting and boiling crabs and a note on the chemistry behind color changes in cooking. Short portraits follow: the pesky shore crab, swift swimming crabs, spider and hermit crabs, and pea crabs living in mussels, with digressions on symbiosis (Pagurus with anemones) and the famed Venus’s flower basket sponge that often imprisons small crabs. Vivid set pieces range from the coconut crab’s strength and burrows beneath palm roots to Caribbean land-crab migrations, sand and burrowing crabs, and the weaponized king crab, alongside a tour of bizarre and beautiful species worldwide. The author also gives collecting tips (even from fish stomachs) and a brisk account of the trepang fishery and its commerce. The section then turns to shrimps and prawns, distinguishing them clearly, describing the common sand shrimp’s behavior, and introducing simple dredges and hand-nets for catching them.