i8o CRUISE OF THE BARRERA 



near the margin of swamps, fresh-water ponds, 

 or close to the shore, the burrows being slanting 

 and deep enough to reach water. For breeding 

 purposes they probably seek the sea and possibly 

 betake themselves to offshore stations, for nothing 

 is seen or known of them during any period of an 

 aquatic existence. They never seem to fall into 

 fishermen's nets, nor are they caught in the traps 

 set for edible crustaceans in shallow water. At 

 certain seasons they appear in countless numbers, 

 and for a time fairly overrun the land, devouring 

 everything in their path. Apparently anything 

 that can be broken by their claws or masticated 

 by their mandibles serves for food. They enter 

 houses, rattling and scraping over floors and climb- 

 ing upon tables. When swept out they sneak 

 back. When visited by a dreadful carnage on 

 the part of an outraged housewife or a desperate 

 gardener, others arrive quite unaffected by sight 

 of the slaughter of their relatives. On the con- 

 trary, they are probably attracted by their mangled 

 bodies which are no longer capable of self-defense. 

 Such visitation of land-crabs does not last very 

 long. The main army gradually disappears, never- 

 theless some remain throughout the year skulk- 



