572 THE EDIBLE GRAB. 



nerves, but is a well-known fact to those who have had the opportunity of studying them 

 in their native state. A very amusing instance of this strange indifference to injuries 

 which we should think productive of unendurable agony, is related by Mr. Eymer Jones, 

 in his " Aquarian Naturalist." 



After mentioning that he had committed the error of placing a number of crabs in an 

 aquarium, he proceeds as follows : " We had no idea, when we consigned them to the 

 same vessel, what a set of remorseless villains we had to deal with, and much question 

 whether our reformatory prisoners would show such an example of appropriate classifica- 

 tion. They were of different sizes; their dimensions progressively increasing in a regular 

 ratio, the biggest being about as large as an ordinary saucer, and seemed each of them to 

 be aware of the tender mercies he might expect from his companions, though such a 

 presentiment, if it existed, apparently interfered not a bit with his premeditated designs 

 upon the rest. 



The game was not long in beginning : the first that ventured out was seized upon at once 

 by the next in size, who, laying hold of his victim as though he had been a biscuit, with 

 one pair of pincers, proceeded deliberately to break up his shell with the other, helping 

 himself to the flesh by means of his finger and thumb, with as much deliberation as if he 

 had been taking snuff from a snuff-box, and apparently caring little for the hungry eyes 

 that seemed to glare with savage delight upon the atrocious spectacle. 



The crab had, however, not very long enjoyed his cannibal feast, before his proceedings 

 ' were, as we thought, very unceremoniously interrupted by the onslaught of a stronger foe, 

 which, seizing him exactly as he had done the first, proceeded to break him up in a 

 similar manner, helping himself with the utmost sang-froid to the flesh of his already 

 well-fed victim ; while the latter, strange to say, by no means desisted from his meal upon 

 the crab first slaughtered, until quite disabled by his ruthless assailant ; affording a 

 remarkable illustration of the absence of suffering during the infliction of the well- 

 deserved penalty." 



The same writer then proceeds to observe that by the next morning all the crabs had 

 undergone mutual consumption, with the exception of two specimens, which were of nearly 

 equal dimensions, and fearing to engage in combat, betook themselves to opposite sides 

 of the aquarium. At last, however, they did meet, and the weaker was killed and eaten 

 by his more powerful relative. 



As has already been mentioned, the crab is unfit for food when about to cast off its 

 shell, and immediately after that operation, the firm muscle and fat having given place to 

 a watery fluid. The simplest plan of ascertaining whether a crab is fit for food, is to 

 shake it close to the ear, and listen for the splashing of liquid. If the least sound of 

 a fluid be heard, the crab should be rejected. Weight, too, is a good criterion, as a watery 

 crab is veiy light in proportion to its size. Male crabs, too, are preferred to the female, 

 and may at once be known by the narrowness of the tail, that of the female being broad 

 and flattish with a slight convexity. 



When fairly caught, the crab is apt to feign death, and then becomes a dangerous and 

 treacherous creature, ready to seize any object with its powerful claws, and holding with 

 the gripe of a bull-dog. Should the reader ever be unfortunate enough to be caught in a 

 crab's claw, let me advise him at once to twist 'off the entire joint, and then to pull the 

 claw open. For, unlike the green crab, which gives a very severe bite, but soon loosens 

 its hold, the Edible Crab will grasp as long as it lives, and when the enormous size is 

 considered, to which it sometimes attains, and the mass of firm muscle which moves the claw, 

 it will be seen that this species is really a formidable creature. In order, therefore, to pre- 

 vent it from playing such tricks, it is better to put it hors de combat as soon as it is caught, 

 and while it is feigning death. The best method of attaining this object is by administering 

 a smart stab under the tail. The tail, by the Avay, affords a good indication of the crab's 

 condition, and if it bulges well out, the creature is sure to be fat and full of firm meat. 



The shell of this crab is seldom found entirely clean, being generally encrusted with 

 acorn-barnacles, and various marine creatures. Sometimes, when the crab is a very old 

 and large one, has ceased growing for several years, and consequently has needed no 

 change of shell, it becomes absolutely loaded with all sorts of extraneous growths, and in 



