74 
HISTORY OF BRITISH CRUSTACEA. 
go and retreat ; but sometimes- the latter made good his 
foray, and enjoyed his plunder in secret.” Mr. Gosse in- 
forms us that at Weymouth this worm is specially prized by 
the fishermen as bait; and so w r ell aware are they of its 
habits, that they commonly break all whelks containing the 
Crabs, in order to extract the Nereis which they know to be 
within. 
Mr. Gosse has observed the Soldier Crab changing his 
residence for a more roomy one. For an amusing descrip- 
tion of the “flitting” we refer our readers to the pages of 
the * Aquarium' (pp. 167-171). 
Pagurus Bernhardus, Linn. sp. Soldier or Hermit 
Grab . (Plate Y. fig. 3.) — Second and third pairs of legs 
spiny and tubercular on their upper edge ; their last joint 
slightly twisted, somewhat widened towards the end. Hands 
strongly tuberculated. 
Common everywhere on our coast, inhabiting different 
shells according to its age and size. Sometimes, as at Peg- 
well Bay, the creature selects one of the land-shells which 
suits its purpose, such as that of the large common Snail 
{Helix asjoersct ) . The Hermit Crabs are used for bait ; the 
young, Mr. Gordon observes, are often called by the igno- 
rant “ the spawn of the Lobster.” 
