MALACOSTRACA. DECAPODA. 287 



whole class. It is marked by the first three pairs 

 of feet being all terminated by pincers ; by the 

 outside fins of the tail being widened and rounded, 

 and by the sides of the shell being entire. The 

 best known species are the common Lobster and 

 the Cray-fish. An interesting account of the former 

 (A. Marinus) is contained in a letter from Mr. Tra- 

 vis, of Scarborough, to Pennant. He informs us 

 that the large ones are good only in winter, but 

 the small ones are eaten all the summer. The 

 pincers of one of the Lobster's claws are armed 

 with knobs, and those of the other are toothed. 

 With the former it keeps firm hold of the stalks 

 of marine plants, while with the latter it cuts and 

 minces its food very dexterously. The female does 

 not cast her shell the same year that she produces 

 eggs, or is "in berry;" when the spawn first ap- 

 pears, the eggs are very small and deep black ; but 

 when the time of the exclusion of the young draws 

 near, they become brown, and as large as elder- 

 berries. The female continues to deposit eggs as 

 long as any of that black substance remains in the 

 body, which in boiling becomes of a bright red, 

 and is called the coral. These eggs are hatched 

 only in July and August, when many young may 

 be seen swimming about, from half an inch to four 

 inches in length. The Lobster is usually taken in 

 pots, like the Crab ; but on the Yorkshire coast, 

 where the sea is more boisterous, the fishermen use 

 a bag-net extended by an iron hoop, two feet in 

 diameter, and suspended by three lines like a scale. 



