THE CRUSTACEANS. 299 
often crustaceans are met with which have unequal-sized claws ; 
the smaller of the two is only in process of growth, replacing the 
original member lost in the fortune of war. Nature has willed that 
the maimed warrior shall not be long hors de combat. Lobsters 
have been known to retire from the encounter wounded, and with 
the loss of some of their limbs, but after a few months’ retirement 
they again were upon the field of battle, strong and vigorous, with 
their weapons renewed, and ready for another struggle. 
On the Spanish coast there is’a crab rejoicing in the high- 
sounding name of Soccaccio, whose claw is considered delicate 
eating. The creature is caught, and the coveted claw wrenched 
off; the maimed crustacean is then thrown back into the sea 
to grow another, which will be similarly taken at some future 
time. What a noble destiny for an animal to fulfil—to grow claws 
for its human masters to eat! 
The crustaceans are nearly all carnivorous. They are by no 
means dainty, for it matters little to them whether they eat the 
flesh of enemies or friends, or whether the creature be dead or 
alive. It is amusing to watch a crab when he has seized a mussel ; 
with one claw he holds it aloft, and, with the most sedate gravity, 
with his other pincers detaches the mollusk, putting the pieces 
quietly into his mouth, just as a human being would do. The crab 
does not directly bite his prey, but introduces it into his mouth 
with his pincers. The lobster, however, follows the example of 
most animals, and attacks his food with his teeth. 
A naturalist once surprised, upon the shore, at Royan, a party 
of crabs at their -repast. Upon that particular day they were 
dining in common—probably it was a family réunzon. They were 
in a row, all their heads turned the same way, and all upright on 
their eight feet. They seized the objects on the shore alternately 
with each claw, in the most regular and precise manner, like a 
regiment of soldiers practising a new drill—the dinner drill. 
The Long-horned Corophia are endowed with many peculiar 
instincts. They live on annelids and worms. When the tide rises, 
they may be seen beating the sand with their antenne; by this 
means the worms are exposed. When one of unusual size is 
unearthed, several of these crustacea join in the attack. It is also 
asserted that they climb the hurdles to which the mussels are 
