454 A DESCRIPTION OF 
the ditches and ponds of salt marshes. Its flavour is very 
delicate. 
2. THE PRAWN. (Palemon serratus.') 
THE Prawn is not unlike the shrimp, but exceeds it con- 
siderably in size ; and it has a projecting ridge down the 
back, furnished with sharp teeth. Its colour, when 
boiled, is a most beautiful pink. The flesh is less delicate 
than that of the shrimp. 
Prawns are chiefly found among sea-weed, and in the 
vicinity of rocks, at a little distance from the shore. 
They seldom enter the mouths of rivers. Their usual 
mode of swimming is on their backs ; but when threatened 
with danger, they throw themselves on one side, and 
spring backward to very considerable distances. They 
feed on all the smaller kinds of marine animals, which 
they seize and devour with great voracity. In their 
turn, they are the prey of numerous species of fish, 
although the sharp and serrated horn in front of their 
head constitutes a powerful weapon of defence against 
the attacks of all the smaller kinds. At the side of the 
head there is frequently to be observed a large and appa- 
rently unnatural lump. This, if examined, will be found 
to contain, under the thoracic plate, a species of parasitic 
animal, which occupies the whole cavity, and there feeds 
and perfects its growth. The same tumour or lump may 
be also observed on the shrimp. 
Being in great request for the table, both shrimps and 
Prawns are eagerly sought for by fishermen, who catch 
them either in osier baskets similar to those employed in 
catching lobsters, or in a kind of net called a Putting-net. 
These, which are well known to all frequenters of the 
sea-coast, are five or six feet in width, and flat at the 
bottom ; and are pushed along in the shallow water, upon 
the sandy shores, by a man who walks behind. 
