AND FISHING. 153 



the prevalent fish. The shell-fish are mentioned 

 only to notice two species, the oyster and the black 

 crab : the former literally grows upon trees, that 

 is to say, they adhere to the branches of the wil- 

 lows that grow on the margin of the water, and in 

 this state are brought into market, where they are 

 sold at so much per stick ; their shells generally 

 resemble the muscle rather than the pandore ; 

 they are very sweet and wholesome nevertheless : 

 the black crab (which resembles exactly the Scotch 

 parton, but smaller, and darker in the colour) is 

 considered a great delicacy in Jamaica ; the habits 

 of this animal are a great puzzle to the West In- 

 dians ; they are found in all parts of the interior, 

 and supposed to migrate every year from one side 

 of the island to the other ; they are often met in 

 hundreds together, slowly traversing the country ; 

 at these times it is dangerous to meddle with them, 

 for if they should fix upon man, mule, or horse, 

 nothing but wrenching their claws from their 

 bodies will make them quit their hold : it is a curi- 

 ous circumstance, that during these migrations 

 nothing can make them swerve from their path- 

 be the obstacle trees, stones, or precipice, they 

 go direct over it, by means of their adhesive claws ; 

 whilst sojourning on the sea-shore, they burrow in 

 holes like rabbits. Chambers' Journal, No. 58. 



In the collection of the late Sir W. Raffles was 

 a new species ofjulis, which, from its coloured 



