ON CRUSTACEA. 279 



or granzo of the Italians. It was believed that its ashes were 

 useful, from their desiccative qualities, to those who had been 

 bitten by a mad dog, either by employing those ashes alone, 

 or mixed with incense and gentian. 



According to the report of jElian, the fresh-water crabs 

 fOcypodes? ) as well as the tortoises and crocodiles, foresaw 

 the inundation of the Nile, and, about a month previously to 

 that event, they resorted to the most elevated situations in the 

 neighbourhood. 



The Thelphusa Jtuviatilis is common in the environs of 

 Rome, and remains in the mud, so that to get at it the fisher- 

 men are obliged to dig a trench all round. It removes to a 

 considerable distance from the water, and can live a week, 

 and sometimes even a month, out of this element. It even 

 appears that crabs can be preserved alive in this manner, by 

 keeping them in cellars, or in fresh and somewhat humid 

 places. 



In Rome, the thelphusa fluviatilis is eaten on fast days, and 

 at all times of the year. These Crustacea, however, are better 

 in summer, after their moulting, and more especially while 

 they are undergoing this change. They are then served up 

 on the tables of the pope and cardinals. Some persons make 

 them die in milk, to sweeten and soften their flesh. They are 

 carried to market, attached by a cord, but placed at a certain 

 distance from each other, because if they were suffered to 

 touch, they would gnaw each other, and lose a portion of their 

 limbs. Belon observes that the females are distinguished by 

 their tail, which is broader and more rounded, in the form of 

 a shield. This difference, however, here, is not so sensible as 

 in most other species of this family. The same natvn-alisthas 

 found this decapod in the streams of Mount Athos. The 

 Caloyers, or monks of Mount Athos, eat it raw, and maintain 

 that it has more flavour in this state than when cooked. 



M. Menard de Groye, correspondent of the Academy of 



