HABITS OF THE SHORE CRAB. <'3 15 



they are likewise the organs of defence and the in- 

 struments of offence. The other limbs,, disposed in 

 pairs, are adapted for running, and resemble each 

 other, only those of the hind pair are fringed and 

 slightly flattened. The claws, however, are the main 

 and most important weapons, armed with forceps, 

 whose office may be compared to the hands of man- 

 kind, and the paws of other animals ; they possess 

 remarkable strength in proportion to their dimen- 

 sions. The motions of the little crab under consider- 

 ation are lively, quick, and active, but it does not 

 swim : none of our native species is so thoroughly 

 littoral in its habits, the shore is almost as much the 

 place of its abode as the sea. Wherever rock and 

 weeds and sand abound it is commonly present, ever 

 seeking shelter in the fissures, or under the shelves, 

 so that its body may be protected by some covering. 



The Carcinus Mcenas feeds voraciously ; the most 

 convenient food for it is the common mussel, which 

 may be kept fresh a long time though that seems 

 no great recommendation, seeing that this creature is 

 not nice in the quality of its sustenance : it is one of 

 Nature' s scavengers, and feeds as promiscuously as 

 any of them, whether the substance be fresh or putrid 

 fish or flesh living or dead. Should a mussel or 

 other bivalve be opened, and the half given to one of 

 these little captives, it is not a little amusing to see 

 how gravely it holds the valve in one claw, and with 

 the other picks out the contents, conveying each 

 morsel to its mouth, just as people employ their hands, 

 until the shell is emptied as cleanly as if cleansed 

 artificially. 



Q 5 



