146 , GENERAL MANAGEMENT OE 



crab who having observed, from a distance, a commoiion in 

 that part of the tank, seemed to understand that something 

 was going forward that required his especial attention. He 

 seized the fly, and began systematically to tear it to pieces, 

 holding one piece in his right hand claw, whilst the other 

 portion was conveyed to his mouth, to undergo the process 

 of mastication. With his left claw he kept at bay — by 

 snapping at them now and then — a shoal of minnows and 

 shrimps who seemed to want to dispute his right to the. 

 food, and thought perhaps that theirs, by discovery, should 

 have been respected, but in the little world of the Aqua- 

 rium, as in the great one outside, the right is with -the 

 mightiest, and possession is nine points. The crab, having 

 satisfied himself with the edible portions of the fir, left 

 the shell to the shrimps, who turned it over and over, 

 looking in vain for a remnant. Another fly was now 

 thrown in, which a miserable sized minnow attempted to 

 swallow whole, but failing in so doing, flew about the 

 tank with the head and wings protruding from his mouth, 

 and a host of anxious relatives and friends following in 

 his wake, putting one in mind of a feeding time in a 

 chicken-yard, when a chick of a brood will attempt to 

 swallow a large piece of bread, and failing so. to do, will 

 run about, the others after her with outstretched necks 

 aud seemingly protruding eyes, expectant for the morsel. 

 The poor little minnow turns and doubles, seeking in vain 

 to elude the hungry many, until at last, one swifter than 

 the rest dashes forwards and wrests the fly from his mouth, 

 and immediately engulfs it in his stomach, which seems to 

 be made of some elastic material, for it is difficult to give 



