4 STUDIES IN LIFE AND SENSE. 



comparatively slow movements of the shrimp contrast forcibly with 

 the aerial life of the insect, and the points of likeness might, indeed, 

 be assumed to be non-existent for the non-technical mind. An 

 examination of shrimp anatomy would reveal much that was interest- 

 ing and curious in the way of animal belongings. The appendages 

 of the body, for example, which begin with the big, compound eyes 

 on their movable stalks, as we pass backwards become first jaws, 

 then jaw-feet, and legs, and finally end by appearing as the curious 

 flappers or " swimmerets " of the tail. These appendages, therefore, 

 present us with a curious study in Nature's ways of adapting one 

 and the same type of organ to an amazing variety of uses. Then, 

 we should note also, that the shrimp-body, which seems all head and 

 tail, is really resolvable into a head and chest united firmly together, 

 and a jointed tail ending in the broad tail-fin. We should further 

 observe our shrimp to be built like the steamships of to-day, in 

 "compartments" so to speak, or in "joints" to the number of 

 twenty or so. An inquiry into the internal constitution of shrimp 

 existence would reveal the fact that the cuirassed hopper of our 

 sands is well provided with the organs and possessions through 

 which life of a type much higher than his own is maintained. He 

 possesses a heart situated in his back ; a digestive apparatus, includ- 

 ing a stomach, liver, and intestine, occupying the middle line of his 

 body ; and a nervous system, consisting typically of a double chain 

 of nerves and nerve-masses, lying on the floor of his frame. So far, 

 then, shrimp existence appears to be well provided in the matter of 

 organs and parts necessary for the maintenance of its by no means 

 inactive life. We may perceive in the arrangement of parts just 

 described the heart on the back, the digestive system in the middle 

 of the body, and the nervous system below something more than an 

 accidental occurrence. On the contrary, it would require no special 

 gift of prophecy, scientific or otherwise, to predict that all other 

 shrimps, and all lobsters and crabs likewise, not to speak of the 

 hundreds of lower relations of the shrimp class water fleas, bar- 

 nacles, and the like would possess an essentially similar arrange- 

 ment of their parts. Actual examination 'of the animals just named 

 would show us that our prophecy was founded, according to the 

 advice of Hosea Biglow, on an actual knowledge of affairs. The 

 whole shrimp-race and the varied tribes of crabs, lobsters, and lower 

 crustaceans, are built on one and the same plan, namely, on that 

 seen in the familiar denizens of our sandy reaches. 



But a further thought will unquestionably suggest itself, namely, 

 whether or not this type or build of body is peculiar to the shrimp 

 class and its neighbours. To answer this query, we may profitably 

 enough, perhaps, turn to our butterfly ; a quest which, at first sight, 

 certainly seems anything but promising in its nature. The know- 



