AND HOW TO CATCH THEM. 81 



fishermen who are engaged in this description of 

 fishing application had better be made for a supply of 

 crab whelks, as they are generally called. It is a very 

 good bait for codlings, poutings, &c., &c. A small 

 hammer should be used to break off the shell. The 

 claws and hard portions must be removed, and the 

 tail portion placed on the hook by entering the point 

 at the large end, bringing it up over the bend and 

 shank until the hook is covered. 



Crabs and lobsters are generally found where pro- 

 jecting reefs and sunken rocks afford, amongst their 

 clefts and ledges, places of shelter into which they can 

 retreat in case of danger. Pew large crabs are taken 

 except in comparatively deep water, but small ones 

 are generally found in considerable numbers under 

 large stones, in the cracks between rocks, and in holes 

 formed by the wash of the tide. The male is to be 

 distinguished from the female by its tail being 

 broader. Like the lobster, it is exceedingly pug- 

 nacious, being constantly engaged in active warfare 

 with any antagonist bold enough to meet his attack. 

 In these engagements it very frequently happens that 

 one or two claws are either twisted or thrown off, as 

 it possesses the power of getting rid of a claw or two 

 when hard pressed or alarmed. Nature has provided 

 a curious and admirable means by which bleeding to 

 any extent from the divided vessels is prevented, as 

 by the very small surface exposed by the division of 

 the joint at its narrowest part, its substance rapidly 



