■ NATURE'S CALENDAR i?3 



horseshoe, or king crab, whose whole August i6 



body is protected by a scoop - shaped 

 shield, to the rear of which is hinged a 

 bayonet-like tail, by whose aid the creat- 

 ure can hoist himself up so as to force 

 his way down into the sand, or to turn 

 right side up when a wave or a boy upsets 

 him. You will examine him more curi- 

 ously, perhaps, if I remind you that he is 

 a relic of an otherwise long extinct race 

 of crustaceans that trace their lineage 

 back to the trilobites, the most numerous 

 and important denizens of the seas of the 

 Silurian age. Our horseshoe crab, then, 

 is the sole living representative of one of 

 the oldest races of animals known. 



Here on the sand, or in the muddy es- 

 tuaries and river- mouths, occur many 

 lesser species, more or less similar to the 

 common " blue " edible crab, whose catch- 

 ing is one of the amusements of the sea- 

 son. Most numerous, perhaps, are the 

 fiddlers, running actively about, or peer- 

 ing from the deep, tubular holes which 

 they laboriously excavate and which form 

 their homes. They are vegetarians, feed- 

 ing on the algae, while the edible crabs, 

 lobsters, etc., are carrion-feeders. Larger 

 holes are inhabited by the Ocypoda crabs, 

 which is the terror of the "beach fleas," 

 for which it lies in wait until one comes 

 within leaping distance. Another pre- 

 daceous sand crab is the " lady," which 

 buries itself at low-water mark, watching 

 for its prey or against enemies — many 



August 17 



