THE LOBSTER. 613 



is indurated by iron into the incipient state of sandstone ; they are always filled up, 

 but may be readily distinguished by the indurated walls and summit often projecting 

 a little above the general surface." 



The British Mud-burrower is rather a pretty little creature, being of a soft pink hue. 

 sometimes changing to yellow on the sides. Very soon after death these colors fade^ 

 and change into dull gray. The haddock seems to feed largely on this species, as 

 fragments are mostly found in the stomach of the fish. 



THE second species represented in the engraving is the SLOW SHRIMP, a rather curi- 

 ous looking creature, much resembling the common shrimp, except that it possesses a 

 pair of large and stout claws. Its popular name is derived from the sluggishness of 

 its movements, as it has scarcely any idea of running or swimming away if alarmed, 

 but only attempts to escape by burrowing in the mud. If, therefore, it should be in- 

 tercepted upon some harder ground, where it is not able to burrow, it exhausts all its 

 strength in unavailing efforts, and is easily taken prisoner. The best way of obtain- 

 ing this creature is to dig it out of the sand. It is but a small species, measuring 

 about three inches in length. Several other burrowers are inhabitants of the British 

 shores. One of them is the MUD-BORER (Gebia stelldta), a small species, measuring 

 about two inches in length. This creature often takes possession of the burrows which 

 have been made and forsaken by the razor-shell, but it is doubtlessly able to bore holes 

 for itself. It is rather a pretty little crustacean, being of a pale yellowish white, cov- 

 ered with very little star-shaped orange spots. On the front of the carapace are multi- 

 tudes of little spines, arranged in longitudinal rows. 



ANOTHER species, the DELTURA (Gebia delturd), inhabits the same and similar 

 localities as the mud-borer. In many points it much resembles that crustacean, and 

 has been thought by some persons to be the female of the same species. It furnishes 

 abundance of food to various fishes, especially those belonging to the ray family, and 

 its remains are found abundantly in their stomachs. It is much larger than the mud- 

 borer. All the members of this genus have the carapace formed into a triangular 

 beak, and the outer pair of fore-feet formed for walking. One more remarkable 

 species of burrowing Crustacea is the CALOCARIS (Calocaris Macandrei}, which.resides 

 at a very great depth, having been ascertained to live at the bottom of the sea, more 

 than a thousand feet from the surface. Here, like the rest of these creatures, it 

 burrows in the mud, passing a kind of sub-marine mole-like existence. As, at this 

 great depth, and under the mud, the ordinary visual powers would be of no avail, the 

 creature has but the rudiments of eyes, which are small and quite without coloring. 

 The Calocaris is mostly to be obtained from the stomachs of haddocks, rays, and flat- 

 fishes. 



The color of this curious species is delicate pale rose while living, but, as is usual 

 with this fleeting tint, it soon fades after death. The shell of the Calocaris is very 

 delicate and thin, and the whole of the feet are covered with hairs. 



WE now come to the family of the Astacidae, which includes two well-known and very 

 similar creatures, the fresh-water cray-fish, and the salt-water LOBSTER. The general 

 shape and appearance of the Lobster is too well known to need any description. 

 The vast numbers of Lobsters which are annually brought to the London markets are 

 largely supplied from Norway, although there are many parts of our own coasts where 

 these creatures can be taken plentifully. The Lobster is not much of a rover, seldom 

 straying far from the spot on which it was hatched. It is rather remarkable that 

 Lobsters are liable to permanent varieties, according to the locality in which they 

 reside, and a good judge will be able to determine at a glance from what part of the 

 country any given Lobster has been taken. 



Sometimes a green specimen is brought to market, and the salesmen have a theory 

 that it has obtained this change of color by living in some spot where the ores of copper 

 impregnate the earth. They consequently believe it to be poisonous. Both ideas, how- 

 ever, seem to be groundless. 



Lobsters are always sold by number and not by weight, and their value is necessarily 



