The Hermit - Grab. 



73 



entirely, and then I saw why they needed their houses. 

 But when I gave them a fresh supply of sea-water, how 

 delighted they were to crawl back to their shells, trying 

 first one and then another till they found one of the right 

 size, and then backing contentedly into it I Now let us 

 examine our specimens. 



s^ 



The body is nearly all Eoft. It has a shell on the head 

 and claws and a little shield over the heart, but the abdo- 

 men is so soft that it almost breaks in two. 



Why does the hermit-crab carry a snail-shell on his 

 back? 



To protect his soft body. 



Has he the same appendages as the lobster ? 



