PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 685 



mentioned above were dug out, there were 107 dry castings of crabs. 

 It was certain that many more castings had been displaced and removed, 

 this place being the pasture ground, during the hot weather, of hundreds 

 of cattle from even distant villages. 



Barail is situated on the north side of the river Gandaki flowing 

 by the Pusa Estate. On the south side there are large rice-growing 

 tracts in which no damage by crabs is reported, though crabs 

 are common at a distance of only about two miles from these fields 

 on the opposite side of the river. These fields do not allow water to 

 accumulate in the way the Barail fields do. The local people explain 

 the presence of crabs in Barail fields and their absence in the others 

 by saying that the Barail fields are flooded every year and many crabs 

 come into these fields with the flood water. This however does not 

 seem to be the actual fact. These crabs do not live in sandy beds of 

 rivers. Moreover they are creeping and not natatory in their locomo- 

 tion, being structurally incapable of swimming. They cHng to the 

 surface of the earth as a rule. Therefore there is hardly any likelihood 

 of their being carried off, at least in large numbers, by a current of water. 

 The real reason appears to be the presence of several feet of water in 

 the Barail fields for about half the year. It is also probable that parti- 

 cular soils afford favourable conditions for excavating holes. 



Before proceeding to a discussion of the conditions of damage to 

 growing rice plants by crabs, a few remarks may be made on their 

 enemies. In Burma Mr. Shroff notes that herons, storks, cranes and 

 other wading birds are natural enemies of crabs. While herons, etc., 

 may destroy some of the young ones, it is doubtful whether any birds 

 prey upon crabs as a rule. The greatest of all enemies are human 

 beings. Everywhere the lower classes of people eat these freshwater 

 crabs, while the children of higher classes too indulge in them in some 

 parts of the country. In Western Bengal the pond-Hving ones are 

 preferred as food to the field-living ones. Marine crabs are of course 

 liked and eaten by various classes of people and form a regular sale- 

 able article for food like fish in Calcutta. According to the Ayurvedic 

 system of treatment, crabs are a wholesome diet for patients having 

 pulmonary complaints including consumption. At Barail the Musha- 

 hars collect the crabs in large numbers and eat them. It is said that 

 in this way cartloads of crabs are disposed of every year. They are 

 also evidently eaten by other classes of people besides the Mushahars, 

 as they are brought for sale to the local Tiats and pettiahs and the usual 

 price is a quarter of an anna for about a pound containing about 10 

 to 30 crabs according to size. Jackals are known to eat field crabs in 

 Western Bengal, parts of the hard carapace and limbs of crabs being 



