PODOPHTHALMIA. 



51 



Fig. 61 



Fig. 60. - 



■ Crangon vulgaris, natural 

 size. 



Pandalus montaguif 

 slightly reduced. 



is applied indiscriminately to species of Palcemon,; Fatidalus, and Hippolyte. Cran- 

 gon vulgaris is common to the shores of Europe 

 and both coasts of North America. In color it is 

 a dirty white, finely speckled with black, presenting 

 a close resemblance to the sandy shores on which 

 it dwells, and thus afford- 

 ing a certain protection, 

 for almost every shore 

 fish is fond of the delicate 

 crustacean. In England 

 and on the adjacent shores 

 of the continent a common 

 way of catching shrimps is 

 by "horse-power," — ahorse 

 dragging behind him a large 

 net is made to walk up and 

 down through the shallow 

 water, and the Crustacea 

 are held in the meshes. 

 Shrimps are prepared for 

 the table by boiling. In 

 California the shrimp fish- 

 eries are almost entirely in 

 the hands of the Chinese, 



and the following account taken from the Bulletin of 

 the 1? ish Commission tells their method of preparation : — 



" That part of each day's catch which is not sold is carried to the Chinese quarter, 

 and there put at once into boiling brine. The shrimps are then sjDread out to dry upon 

 level plats of smooth, bare ground. After four or five days they are crushed under 

 large wooden pestles, or trod upon by the Chinese in wooden shoes, for the purpose of 

 loosening the meats from the outer chitinous covering ; after which the entire mixture 

 is put through a fanning mill, for the actual separation of the meats from the shells. 

 About 200,000 pounds of shrimps are sold annually in San Francisco, and the annual 

 exports of shrimp-meats to China and the Sandwich Islands are valued at about 

 $100,000. The meats are eaten by all classes in China, but they are cheaper and less 

 esteemed than the native shrimps, which are said to be comparatively scarce." 



Of the habits and details of structure of the Caridea but little of general interest 

 can be said. The families are founded uf)on the character of the mandibles, while the 

 maxillipeds and thoracic feet afford a means of division into genera. The genus 

 Palmmon contains a large number of species, and occurs both in salt and in fresh 

 water, one form {Pdlmmon ohionis), as its name indicates, being found in the Ohio 

 and Mississippi Rivers. Some of the East Indian species acquire a great size, — Palcemon 

 ' carcinus, from the tip of the chelipeds to the end of the telson, sometimes measuring 

 nearly two feet, while our own Palmmon jamaicensis is nearly as large. The genus 

 Alpheus, with about sixty species distributed over the warmer seas of the world, 

 usually leads a burrowing life, some of the Ploridan species living in sponges. In 

 these forms the carapax has grown forward so as to completely cover the eyes, while 

 the anterior pair of feet present an interesting peculiarity. These feet are both ter- 



