A NATURALIST. 41 



tributed its sudden arrival to the usual accidents of the 

 stream, and not to ray thoughtless movements. He had 

 thrust his broad lobster-like claws under the stone, and 

 then drawn them near to his mouth; thus making a kind 

 of shelf; and as he reached the edge of the hole, he sud- 

 denly extended his claws, and rejected the incumbrance 

 from the lower side, or down stream. Delighted to have 

 found a living object with whose habits I was unac- 

 quainted, I should have repeated my experiment, but the 

 crayfish presently returned with what might be called an 

 armful of rubbish, and threw it over the side of his cell, 

 and down the stream as before. Having watched him 

 for some time while thus engaged, my attention was 

 caught by the considerable number of similar holes along 

 the margin and in the bed of the stream. One of these 

 I explored with a small rod, and found it to be eight or 

 ten inches deep, and widened below into a considerable 

 chamber, in which the little lobster found a comfortable 

 abode. Like all of his tribe, the crayfish makes con- 

 siderable opposition to being removed from his dwelling, 

 and bit smartly at the stick with his claws : as my pre- 

 sent object was only to gain acquaintance with his dwell- 

 ing, he was speedily permitted to return to it in peace. 

 Under the end of a stone lying in the bed of the stream, 

 something was floating in the pure current, which at 

 first seemed like the tail of a fish, and being desirous to 

 obtain a better view, I gently raised the stone on its 

 edge, and was rewarded by a very beautiful sight. The 



