REPRODUCTION OF LIMBS. 83 



every crevice that can be detected, and if there is a 

 cray-fish, its presence is made known by the sharp 

 thorny points of the head, — for the cray-fish always 

 lies in the hole with its head towards the entrance. 



The business is, then, to draw the creature out of 

 its stronghold without being bitten — a matter of no 

 small difficulty. If the hole is small, and the cray- 

 fish large, I always used to draw it forward by the 

 antennae or horns, and then seize it across the back, 

 so that its claws were useless. 



The power of the claws is extraordinary, consider- 

 ing the size of the creature that bears them. They 

 will often pinch so hard as to bring blood ; and when 

 they have once secured a firm hold, they do not 

 easily become loosened. Still, the risk of a bite 

 constitutes one of the chief charms of the chase. 



The legitimate mode of disposing of the cray-fish, 

 when taken, is to put them into the hat, and the hat 

 on the head ; but they stick their claws into the 

 head so continually, and pull the hair so hard, that 

 only people of tough skin can endure them. 



Sometimes, when the bed of the river is stony, the 

 cray-fish live among and under the stones, and then 

 they are difficult of capture ; for with one flap of 

 their tail they can shoot through the water to a great 

 distance, and quite out of reach. 



It is not unfrequent to find a cray-fish with one 

 large claw and the other very small. The same cir- 

 cumstance may be noted in lobsters. The reason 



