CHAPTER XXI. 



A GOODLY COMPANY OF CRABS 



"The slimy bottom of the Deep." King Richard III. 



T N all the wealth of Ocean-life, perhaps no 

 creature flourishes more abundantly than do 

 Crabs and their relatives. 



We still talk of Jelly-fishes, Starfishes, Craw- 

 fishes, Cuttle-fishes, but no longer of Crab - 

 fishes. 



Once upon a time that name was equally 

 common. Everything that had its home in the 

 sea was popularly supposed to be a fish. We 

 know now that not one of the above belongs to 

 any Fish tribe ; yet in Conservative style we 

 keep the old titles going. 



Crabs and Lobsters, Shrimps and Prawns, 

 are members of the vast CRUSTACEAN division 

 or family. They are so called on account of 

 the hard protecting crust, or armour, by which 

 their soft bodies are guarded. Chief and 

 foremost among the numberless kinds included 



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