THE LAND CRAB. 



5°3 



to catch hold of the hand they will sometimes tear 

 •off a piece of the skin. If in their journey any one of 

 their body is so maimed as to be incapable of pro- 

 ceeding, some of them always fall upon and devour 

 it. They march very slowly, being sometimes three 

 months or upward in gaining the shore. 



When arrived at the coast they prepare to cast 

 their spawn; for this purpose they go to the edge 

 of the water, and suffer the waves to wash twice or 

 thrice over their bodies. They then withdraw to seek 

 a lodging upon land. In the mean time the spawn is 

 excluded in a bunch from the body, and adheres to 

 the under parts of the tail. This bunch becomes as 

 large as a hen's egg, and exactly resembles the roe 

 of a herring. In this state they again, for the last 

 time, seek the shore, and shaking off the spawn into 

 the water, leave it to the waters, and the heat of the 

 sun, to be brought to maturity. About two thirds 

 of the eggs are devoured by the shoals of fish which 

 annually frequent the shores in expectation of this 

 prey. Those that escape are hatched under the 

 sand ; and, not long after this, millions of the little 

 crabs may be seen quitting the shore, and slowly tra- 

 velling up to the mountains. 



The old ones in their return are feeble, lean, and 

 so inactive that they are scarcely able to crawl along, 

 and their flesh at this time changes its colour. Many 

 of them are obliged to continue iij the level parts of 

 the country till they recover, making holes in the 

 earth which they block up with leaves and dirt. In 

 these they cast the'ir old shells, and continue after- 

 ward nearly motionless for six or seven days, when 

 Kk 4 



