24: CRAB, SHRIMP, AND LOBSTER LORE. 



seriously injured ; and should they chance to encounter 

 an antagonist from whom it appears wise to beat a 

 retreat, our friend firmly seizes him by the most tender 

 spot he can select, sets his pincers nipping and grind- 

 ing in the most excruciating manner, and then rapidly 

 detaching and leaving them in possession, darts off to 

 the first sanctuary within his reach. To most living 

 creatures the unceremonious sacrifice of limbs in this 

 way would lead to almost immediate loss of life from 

 hemorrhage, but a wise provision is also made for this 

 contingency. The division taking place at a con- 

 stricted portion of the joint of a limb admits of the 

 vessels drawing themselves in, and so stopping the 

 flow of blood. A thin membrane soon covers the 

 stump, and in due time another limb replaces that which 

 has been lost or cast away. In some localities the 

 haunts of the Crab are discovered by fastening pieces 

 of waste fish to the ends of short, strong lines, and 

 then, after attaching long stones by their middles to the 

 other ends, strewing them about among the rocks and 

 pools j at the ebbing of the tide, these tell-tale stones are 

 sought for as they rest outside and across the dwellin<'-- 

 places of the Crabs, which when found are not only 

 " made a note of," but the tenants either by hook or 

 crook brought to light with little ceremony. . 



Some little judgment is required to select a thoroughly 

 good Crab for the table, and as the choice usually lays 



