52 CRAB, SHRIMP, AND LOBSTER LORE. 



of the tro^^ics; — all tliese, and innumerable otlier objects, 

 find a resting-place on the newly-formed rocks, and in 

 due time are broken u^d by decay, but are always added 

 to by the same great store, until, wave-borne in their 

 rough, strong, buoyant husks, come cocoa-nuts and 

 otlier seeds. These quickly germinate, sprout up, and 

 send their roots far out in search of nutriment, and 

 thus bind the loose materials of the new-formed ground 

 together. Watered by the tropic showers and sea sj)ray, 

 the little sea-girt forest grows apace, and the wandering 

 sea-fowl, and migratory birds are not slow in converting 

 it into a haven of rest for their wearied pinions. These 

 last visitors bring in their crops, from far-off continents 

 and islands, the seeds of many shrubs and plants, 

 which, falling amongst elements congenial to their 

 growth, rapidly spring into life, and, like the trees 

 amongst which they find shelter, bear seed in their 

 turn, and in due season die, to afford food for their 

 successors in the kingdom of plants. Man claims some 

 of these realms as his own ; others are left to such 

 inhabitants as nature may people them with. The West 

 India Islands, too, are inhabited by many curious and 

 interesting members of the Crab family : one of these 

 known as the Land Crab (Gecarcinus ruricola), is 

 pretty much of a highlander in his nature. The 

 upland solitudes are most to his taste, and here he 

 forms for himself a snug retreat beneath the earth of 



