948 The American Naturalist. [November, 
spot like an eye on each side of the back. In others these tints 
are reversed, the spots being purple on a light ground. Others 
again are nearly black, or the carapace is orange or straw color 
flecked or marbled with purple, or the body is purple tinged with 
orange, in an endless series of patterns so that no two are alike. 
These fickle colors seem to be all for show. They plainly have 
no protective meaning, but are due to somfe subtile physiological 
cause of which we are ignorant. 
A negro was living near this spot above a little stretch of white 
beach, and under the shade of a beautiful grove of cocoanut 
palms. About his cabin were strewn the telling remains of many 
crab dinners. He told me that these animals " begin to crawl" 
after rain at about 8 o'clock in the morning, and disappear again 
about 4 in the afternoon. Their legs are fringed with sharp spines 
or climbers, by the aid of which they readily ascend trees, and 
the large pincers which they brandish, not without effect, show 
plainly that they are able to protect themselves. 
The crabs have many queer habits. An odd freak is that of 
tucking little stones in their ears after moulting the skin, but what 
is more surprising is the apparent indifference and address with 
which they will sometimes amputate their own limbs. I saw a 
good piece of this invertebrate surgery one day when I captured 
a shore crab which was crossing the road. A crab always cuts a 
comical figure as it runs sidewise, eying you with its optic organs 
raised aloft like a pair of opera glasses. As Charles Kingsley 
says of the four-eyed fish, he who sees a crab scuttling across the 
road for the first time without laughing must be much wiser or 
much stupider than any man has a right to be. I had pinioned 
this crab with my foot, and held him as I supposed securely by 
the " great pincers," one in each hand, when he suddenly dropped 
both claws, and scuttled off with apparent unconcern, although 
he had parted with his most valuable weapons. ^ 
vigorous mus 
ly profound r 
