TALITRUS LOCUSTA. 131 



water they could still walk and leap a little. At 

 this stage one was laid on sand damped with sea 

 water, and after a little while it recovered, and 

 burrowed into the sand. The other, after five hours' 

 immersion, ceased to live. From this ex^^eriment 

 they appear to be able to bear much drenching under 

 heavy rain, where the water drains quickly through 

 the sand; yet we find that a few hours* close con- 

 finement in fresh water is destructive to life. 



As this species is " never found voluntarily inhabit- 

 ing the sea," to test how long they ^^^ould live in 

 salt water, twelve of them were put into a glass jar 

 with about a pint of sea-water, where they seemed 

 at home for two or three days. Although the 

 experiment could not be carried further satisfactorily 

 without food, it showed that they were sufficiently 

 fitted against any deluge or contingency in that Avay 

 that was likely to overtake them in their natural 

 habitat. They were allowed to remain in the water 

 that it might be seen whether they would or would 

 not in this strait assume cannibalism. On the 

 sixth day they were beginning to be more languid. 

 On the seventh day a few of them were lying on 

 their backs, but still in life. On the tenth day they 

 were all dead. In no case during their confinement 

 in the water was there any attempt made to attack 

 or devour one another. Not even a vestige of muti- 

 lation could be seen on one of them. Another batch 

 were kept on damj) sand, without food, till they all 

 died, with the same result as above. Messrs. Bate 

 (& Westwood, in their BriflsJi Sessile-eyed Ci'iistaceciy 

 vol. i., p. 21, quote Mr. Swain, who says "that one 

 day at a picnic party he saw not millions but cart-loads 

 of tliis species lying i)iled together along the margin 

 of tlie sea. They hopped and leaped about, devouring 

 eacli other as if for i)erfect wantonness. A handker- 

 chief, which a lady let fall amongst them, was soon 

 reduced to a piece of open-work by the minute jaws 

 of these small creatures." To say nothing as to how 

 the cart-loads of these creatures could live when 



