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themselves into this fluid itself, their antennae and their palpi 

 are in continual motion. The same observer informs us, that 

 they live in society, and that when dead bodies approach 

 them, they are heaped one upon the other to dispute for the 

 pieces. 



Their flesh is of no use for eating, but fishermen occasionally 

 employ it as bait. Some large species of America and the East 

 Indies are nevertheless sought after for the flavour of their 

 flesh. Seba tells us that the 'paguriis latro is good for eating, 

 and that its entrails especially, being properly dressed, con- 

 stitute an agreeable food. Linnaeus says, on the contrary, 

 that it is only good for eating when those parts are removed. 

 According to Rochefort, they are sometimes eaten by the in- 

 habitants of the Antilles. 



It is only in the summer that these animals can be observed. 

 They are, during winter, remote from our coasts, or they keep 

 themselves concealed there. They are extended into all parts 

 of the globe, but more particularly in the equatorial regions. 

 It is there that the largest individuals are found. 



The Palinuri have very strong relations with astacus, and 

 indeed are sometimes termed ^/^a/«^ic lobsters. The palinurus 

 of the European seas is sought after as a delicate meat, espe- 

 cially from the month of May to that of August. The females 

 at this time, having not yet laid their eggs, are preferred to 

 the males. Their eggs, which are named coral, form in the 

 interior of the body two elongated masses, of the thickness of 

 the tube of a quill, of a very fine red, diverging towards 

 their two apertures, and situated one on each side, near 

 the basis of their intermediate feet. These eggs are very 

 small on issuing from the body of the mother ; but they 

 grow insensibly during the twenty days in which they remain 

 attached to the leaflets of the under part of the tail. After" 

 this time, they are all detached, together with their envelopes. 

 They are ol'ten found fixed against the rocks, or wandering. 



