THE PAINTED CRAB. 451 



device is ingenious, simple, and often successful. Long strings are attached to flat pieces of 

 slate or stone, which are carefully laid near a burrow, and some tempting food laid outside. 

 The crabs crawl out to feed on the bait, and while they are engaged, the slates are quietly 

 drawn over the entrance of the burrows. A sharp rush is then made, the crabs scuttle away 

 to their homes, and one or two are generally captured before they have recovered their pres- 

 ence of mind sufficiently to leave their barricaded doors and ask for admission into another 

 habitation. Another amusement is to chase the crabs on horseback, trying to ride them down 

 by main speed, and to kill them with a gun. They mostly take an oblique line when running, 

 so that a pursuer who is acquainted with their habits is more likely to succeed in his endeavors 

 than one who employs nothing but main speed in the chase. 



None of these crabs care much about the water, being quite satisfied if they can obtain 

 sufficient moisture to keep their gills in working order. As is the case with most of their 

 kindred, they seek the ocean when the time for laying their eggs has arrived. Even then, 

 they remain but a very short time in the water. It is, however, conjectured that the first 

 stages of existence must be passed either in the water or underground, as a very small Racing 

 Crab never seems to be found. On account of the great speed of these creatures, the Greeks 

 were accustomed to designate them by a name which signifies a horseman or knight. Opinion 

 appears to be divided with respect to the value of their flesh, some species being highly 

 esteemed, while others are totally rejected, and even decried as poisonous. It may be, how- 

 ever, that locality has some influence in these opposite opinions, and that in some places the 

 crabs may feed on wholesome food and therefore be eaten with impunity, while in others they 

 may perforce mix with their diet certain substances injurious to human health, and so become 

 in some degree poisonous. The reader will doubtlessly remember that the common edible 

 mussel is at one time perfectly harmless, and at another is so injurious as to cause serious 

 effects upon the health of those who eat it, life itself having been threatened by the mys- 

 terious influence. 



The Racing Crab alluded to above has a representative species considerably larger than 

 this on the beaches of the sub-tropical portions of America. It is called the SPIRIT CRAB. On 

 the Florida Keys it abounds ; its colors so accord with the yellowish-white sand of the beaches, 

 one is quite deceived at first glance. Were nothing stirring, a few moments after your advent, 

 you would notice nothing of animal life ; move never so lightly, and the light-colored ghosts 

 flit in great numbers to their holes in the sand. 



The ANGULAR CRAB is one of the European species, and in many respects bears some 

 resemblance to the preceding species. The eyestalks of this crab are also long and movable, 

 the carapace is wider than long, and the legs of the male are nearly five times the length of the 

 carapace ; in the female they are only twice the length. The Angular Crab is taken off the 

 southern coasts, and is either dredged out of rather deep water or found within the stomachs 

 of fishes. It is a burrower, forming excavations in hardened mud, and always having each 

 extremity of the habitation open. A Mediterranean variety of the same species prefers to live 

 among rocks, and is a good swimmer, frequently coming to the surface of the water, but not 

 being known to frequent the land. The claw-legs are of great length, and the claws themselves 

 are large and powerful. Its name of Angular Crab is given to it in allusion to the shape of the 

 carapace. 



IN the next family, of which the PAINTED CRAB (Orapsus pictus) is a good example, the 

 eyestalks are very short, and the carapace is squared. The members of this family are found 

 in nearly all warm parts of the globe, not, however, being natives of the European coasts. 

 Now and then a FLOATING CRAB (Planes linneana) is swept into the seas together with masses 

 of the well-known Gulf-weed ; but its presence is purely accidental, and cannot entitle it to 

 rank among the European species. 



The Painted Crab is a native of the Antilles, and is a very active as well as beautiful 

 species, haunting the sea-shore and running about nimbly in the spray. It is a good climber, 

 and can ascend or descend nearly perpendicular rocks, provided that they are washed by the 

 waves. Some species of this genus prefer the mouths of tidal rivers, and remain mostly at the 



