THE CRAW-FISH. ^ij 



ened cone. When fifteen days are elapsed this 

 cone inclines toward the head of the animal. In a 

 few days more its curvature increases, and it begins 

 to assume the appearance of a dead claw. This 

 claw, though at the end of a month or five weeks 

 it has acquired the length of six or seven lines, 

 which is more than half an inch, is still incapable 

 of action. The membrane in which it is inclosed, 

 becoming gradually thinner in proportion as it ex- 

 tends, gives an opportunity of observing the parts 

 or the claw, and we now perceive that this conical 

 substance is not a simple congeries of flesh. The 

 moment is now arrived when the claw T begins to be 

 brought forth. The membrane at last bursts, and 

 the new claw, though still soft, appears without 

 incumbrance or investment. In a few days more it 

 is covered with a shell; and, though still delicate, 

 and not the half of its former length, it is able to 

 perform all the natural functions. It has likewise 

 been discovered that, whether the claw has been 

 lopped off at the fourth articulation, or any where 

 else, the animal, in a short time, recovers all that 

 it had lost. The same reproduction takes place 

 also in the horns ; but, if the tail is cut off, the 

 animal survives a few days only. 



The Craw-fish are found in many of our rivers, 

 lodged in holes which they form in the clayey banks ; 

 and their presence is generally esteemed an evidence 

 of the goodness of the water. They are frequently 

 taken by means of sticks split at the end, with a 

 bait inserted in the cleft, and stuck in the mud at 

 the distance of a few feet from each other. These 



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