handling and the strangeness of his environment; 

 but soon he settled down and began to give his 

 attention to a little frond of red seaweed. This he 

 seized in his pincer and pulled toward his mouth 

 where it was held while he proceeded to tear it 

 into shreds with both claws. Then, having reduced 

 it to a size which he evidently deemed suitable for 

 his purpose, he whirled and rumpled it in his 

 mouth-parts, or maxillipeds, for a short space; 

 after which he took it in his claw once more and 

 with an awkward flourish brought the plant 

 around over his carapace, catching it on one of the 

 groups of hook-like bristles which grow on the 

 tubercles on his back. Except for an occasional 

 alternation in the claws he employed for the pur- 

 pose, this masking performance kept up without 

 variation for nearly an hour, at the end of which 

 time he had completely covered his carapace. Al- 

 ways were his rumplings and flourishings the same ; 

 and — what is peculiarly to the point — always was 

 a seaweed selected which was of the same color as 

 the environment. 



Nor is the crab's choice of color restricted to red 

 alone. Denuded of his covering of Irish moss, and 

 placed in the control tank, Jim after another mo- 



[237] 



