168 THE OCEAN. 



Several species of minute Crabs and Shrimps 

 occur also in great numbers, and constitute no small 

 portion of the food of the Whale. One little crea- 

 ture, in particular {Cancer nugax), was found to 

 swarm even beneath the ice, in the temporary so- 

 journ of the discovery expeditions in winter quar- 

 ters. The men had often noticed the shrinking of 

 their salt meat which had been put to soak; and 

 a goose that had been frozen, on being immersed to 

 thaw, was, in the lapse of forty -eight hours, reduced 

 to a perfect skeleton. The officers afterwards availed 

 themselves of the services of these industrious little 

 anatomists, to obtain cleaned skeletons of such small 

 animals as they procured, merely taking the pre- 

 caution of tying the specimen in a loose bag of 

 gauze or netting, for the preservation of any of the 

 smaller bones that might be separated by the con- 

 sumption of the ligaments. 



