NATURAL HISTORY 



743 



less, and usually bury themselves in the sain I 



until a new crust is formed. Most of them are 



littoral in their habits, dwelling upon the shores 



of the sea or those of creeks and rivers, but some 



few live inland, and are known as land crabs. 



One remarkable species inhabits holes in the 



highest hills and mountains of Jamaica and 



r i. -lands of the West Indies. When the 



season for spawning arrives, they proceed to the , 



sea in a boay of many millions, a journey which 



occupies some weeks. Having deposited their 



in the sand, they return, traveling only by 



. and arrive emaciated and exhausted. 



Crane. A genus of birds belonging to the ! 



(imllir. They are chiefly remarkable for 



their long migrations. In these journeys they 



usually fly in large flocks led by a single leader, 



the whole assemblage assuming a wedge-like 



form, and the leadership is continually changed, 



so that it is occupied in succession by every 



crane in the flock. The common crane breeds 



in the north of Europe and in Siberia, and mi- 



rtes southwards at the approach of winter, 

 is a fine bird, attaining nearly five feet in 

 height: with the exception of the neck, which 

 is black, the body is of a uniform ashy-grey; it 

 has a noble and graceful carriage, and the 

 feathers on its tail, which rise up in undulating 

 clusters, adds much to its elegance. It frequents 

 large plains and marshes, and feeds miscellan- 

 eously on fish, reptiles, frogs, molluscs, worms, 

 insects, and even small mammals. When the 

 breeding season arrives, the birds break up their 

 social compact, and pair off for the purpose of 

 reproduction and rearing the young. The nest, 

 in which are usually laid two eggs, is roughly 

 constructed on the ground, and the male shares 

 with the female the cares of incubation. When 

 caught young, cranes are easily tamed. The 

 and dances in which they are said to in- 

 dulge are not mere idle stories; it is certainly 

 true that these birds form groups in various 

 fashions, advance towards one another, make 

 a kind of salutation, and adopt the strangest 

 postures. The Demoiselle crane is remarkable 

 for two beautiful clusters of white feathers on 

 either side of its head, and for a black pendent 

 tuft down the breast. Its size is about tne same 

 as that of the common crane, and its shape is 

 still more elegant. It is a native of Turkey, 

 Northern .Urna, and some parts of Asia. The 

 crested crane has the top of its head adorned 

 with a tuft of feathers, which it has the power 

 of spreading out like a fan. It inhabits the 

 aiui northern coasts of Africa, and some 

 of tin- i-lands of tin- Mediterranean. 



< nxMMlih*. family, and order of 



saurian reptile-;, comprising the largest living 



I lie characters of the order 



Crocodilia are as follows: The skin is covered 



with .square, bony plates; the tail is long an. I 



compn ed laterally. The four feet are short, 



and there are five toes on each of the two fore- 



.<! four on each of the two hind-feet, the 



"! or less wel>).< <l . the limbs are feeble. 



The jau- are loni; ami then j;a pe of enormous 

 width. The nostrils are at tin- extremity of 

 it. and capable of being closed to pre- 

 v tit in The heart is four-cham- 



bered. The families now existing are the 



Alligatoridce, Crocodilidcp, and Gavialidce. The 

 alligators are all New World forms. The gavial 

 proper is confined to the East Indies. The 

 Crocodilidoe, to which family the crocodile be- 

 longs, have unequal teeth and no abdominal 

 plates, and the cervical and dorsal plates are 

 distinct for the most part. The crocodile of 

 the Nile is the best-known member of the order; 

 another species is met with in South Asia, 

 Sunda, and the Moluccas. The crocodile is 

 formidable from its great size and strength, but 

 on shore its shortness of limb, grout length of 

 body, and difficulty of turning enable men and 

 animals readily to escape pursuit. In the water 

 it is active and formidable. It is exclusively 

 carnivorous, and always prefers its food in a 

 state of putrefaction. In Egypt it is no longer 

 found except in the upper or more southern 

 parts, where the heat is greatest and the popu- 

 lation least numerous. Crocodiles are still 

 common enough in the river Senegal, the Congo, 

 Niger, etc. They grow sometimes to a length 

 of thirty feet, and apparently live to a vast age. 



Crow, the crow family. They are very 

 omnivorous, and remarkable for their intelli- 

 gence. The family, widely diffused over the 

 world, includes the common crow, and the 

 raven, the fish-crow, the rook, the jay, and the 

 magpie. The common crow of North America 

 is remarkable for its gregarious and predatory 

 habits. They pair in March; the old repair 

 their nests, the young frame new ones; but t hey 

 are such thieves, that while the one is fetching 

 materials, the other must keep watch to prevent 

 the rising fabric from being plundered by their 

 neighbors. As soon as the nest is finished and 

 the eggs produced (five, bluish-green, with dark 

 blotches), the male takes upon himself the care 

 of providing for his mate, which he continues 

 during the whole period of incubation. They 

 frequent the same rookeries for years, but allow 

 no intruders into their community. They feed 

 chiefly on worms and the lame of insects; 

 they also eat grain and seeds, whence they have 

 sometimes been supposed injurious to the farmer; 

 l>ut they amply repay him for what they take 

 by destroying the vermin in his fields. 



Cypress. A genus of coniferous 

 The common European cypress is a dark-colored 

 evergreen with extremely small leaves, entirely 

 covering the branches. It has a quadrangular, 

 or. where the top branches diminish in 1 

 pyramidal shape. Cypress trees, though of a 

 somewhat somber and gloomy amxaranee. may 

 be used with great eiYert in uurubberiaf and 

 gardens. They are much valued also on ac- 

 count of their wood, which is hard, compact, 

 and verv durable, of a reddi-h color and a plea- 

 ant smell. It was uaed at funerals and as an 

 emblem of mourning by tin- -.IOMC-I 



other members of the genus are the Indian 

 cypress; the Cypress pendula, a native of China 

 and Japan: the ineen-e-lM'aring ryprest, a 



aixl the evergreen An 

 Cypress or white cedar. The deciduous r\ -press 



of the I'm ted States an. I Mexico, is frequently 



called the Virginian OYpfMfc It- tin 

 valuable, and in. ,lmo-t itn; 



able. In parts of the r .11 ted States ll.i- < 



< ites forests hundreds of miles in extent. 



