Some Friends in Armor 89 



the interior and coming forth to eject the rubbish Is 

 repeated several times, during which he does con- 

 siderable squirming in the effort to adjust himself to 

 the convolutions of the shell. 



After these precautions against insanitation and dis- 

 comfort, the crab, with his flexible hind body firmly 

 wrapped around the columella, or inside spiral, extends 

 his legs and walks alertly away. 



Now, in the strict sense of the word, the hermit crab 

 is neither a hermit nor is he a crab. One may forgive 

 the original nomenclators for misnaming this animal; 

 in their rude system everything that carried claws was 

 called a "crab." But the fact that they have bequeathed 

 to posterity the misleading appellation of "hermit" is 

 entitled to scant courtesy. Indeed, the fancied resem- 

 blance of the shell of the hermit crab to the shelter of 

 a hermit Is no more analogous than that the shirt on 

 one's back is one's home. Nor Is he averse to the com- 

 pany of his fellows. At no time does he lead a life of 

 seclusion. Furthermore, among other of his un-hermit- 

 like attributes, as we shall have occasion to discover 

 later, Is his fondness for female society In particular. 

 Yet this Instance Is a trifle to some of the blunders of 

 popular nomenclature ; therefore, I shall pass It without 

 further comment, lest I be accused of weighing hairs. 



But his claim to membership among the crabs, hang- 

 ing as It does by a still more slender thread, is a seri- 

 ous matter, and cannot be dismissed so easily. The two 

 great groups into which the higher crustaceans are sep- 

 arated bear the scientific names of Macriira and Bra- 

 chyiira; meaning, respectively, "long-bellied" and 

 "short-bellied." Of those crustaceans who are mem- 



