THE FOOD OF THE CRAYFISH. 9 



wliich a stream haunted by crayfishes runs, is soft 

 and peaty, the crayfishes work their way into it in all 

 directions, and thousands of them, of all sizes, may be 

 dug out, even at a considerable distance from the banks. 



It does not ai)pear that crayfishes fall into a state of 

 torpor in the winter, and thus **hybernate" in the strict 

 sense of the word. At any rate, so long as the weather 

 is open, the crayfish lies at the mouth of his burrow, 

 barring the entrance with his great claws, and with pro- 

 truded feelers keeps careful watch on the passers-by. 

 Larvae of insects, water- snails, tadpoles, or frogs, which 

 come within reach, are suddenly seized and devoured, 

 and it is averred that the water-rat is liable to the same 

 fate. Passing too near the fatal den, possibly in search 

 of a stray crayfish, whose flavour he highly appreciates, 

 the vole is himself seized and held till he is suffocated, 

 when his captor easily reverses the conditions of the anti- 

 cipated meal. 



In fact, few things in the way of food are amiss to 



the crayfish ; living or dead, fresh or carrion, animal or 



vegetable, it is all one. Calcareous plants, such as the 



stoneworts (Chara), are highly acceptable; so are any kinds 



of succulent roots, such as carrots ; and it is said that 



crayfish sometimes make short excursions inland, in 



search of vegetable food. Snails are devoured, shells 



and all ; the cast coats of other crayfish are tm-ned to 



account as supplies of needful calcareous matter ; and 



the unprotected or weakly member of the family is 

 2 



