7 o6 r C A N 
imall fize, and brown colour; it hath two claws of une¬ 
qual fcignefs, red at the ends j and eight legs, which feem 
of lefs life to them than in other crabs; for, when on the 
ground, they crawl with flow pace, dragging their bodies 
along ; but they are moftly feen grafping with their claws, 
and hanging to fome fea-plant, or other marine fubftance. 
15. The pi film, or pea-crab, with rounded and fmooth 
thorax, entire, and blunt; tail the fize of the body, which 
is commonly about the bulk of a pea. Jt inhabits the 
rnufcle, and has unjuftly acquired the repute of being 
toifonous. The fwelling after easing of mufcles is whol- 
y conftitutional; for one that is affebted by it, hundreds 
remain uninjured. Crabs either of this kind, or allied to 
them, t,lte ancients believed to have been the confentane- 
ous inmates of the PinnJE, and other bivalves ; which, 
being too ftupid to perceive the approacli of their prey, 
were warned of it by this vigilant friend. 
16. The mamas, or common crab, with three notches 
on the front ; live ferrated teetli on each fide; claws ova- 
ted ; next joint toothed ; hind feet tubulated ; dirty green 
colour; red when boiled. It inhabits all our fiiores ; and 
lurks under the algae, or burrows under the fand. 
17. The pagurus, or black-clawed crab, with a crenated 
thorax; fmooth body; quinquedentated front; fmooth 
claws and black tips; hind feet tabulated. It inhabits 
the rocky coafts ; is the moft delicious meat of any ; cafts 
its (hell between Chriftmas and Eafter. The tips of the 
claws of this fpecies are ufed in medicine,; intended to 
abforb acidities in the ftomach and bowels. This fpecies 
is reprefented in the centre of the annexed engraving. 
j 8. The velutinus, or velvet-crab, with the thorax 
quinquedentated ; body covered with fliort brown velvet¬ 
like pile; claws covered with minute tubercles: fmall 
.fpines round the top of the fecond joint; hind legs broad¬ 
ly ovated. This is among the fpecies taken notice of by 
Ariftotle on account of the broad feet, which, he fays, af- 
1'iff them in fwimming; as web-feet do the water-fowl. 
It inhabits the weftern coaft of Anglefea. 
19. The horridus, or horrid-crab, with a projecting bi¬ 
furcated fnout, the end diverging; body heart-ftiaped ; 
with the claws and legs covered with long and very fliarp 
fpines. It is a large fpecies, and inhabits the rocks on the 
eaftern coafts of Scotland. It is common-to Norway and 
Scotland, as many of the marine animals and birds are. 
20. The criftatus, or prickly-crab, is of a beautiful red 
when boiled, but its natural Colour is a dirty grey. The 
fhell is very hard and thick; the hinder part is large and 
round, and the fore part a little more pointed. On the 
furface of the fhell are four particular excrefcences; be- 
fides which it is covered with a great number of hollow 
prickles; and the flefh of the animal has fo many ereCted 
points fafhioned by thefe prickles, which are longed on 
both fides of the anterior part. Exactly in the middle of 
tthe head, there are two of thefe prickles, or horns, which 
are larger and longer than the reft. Under thefe two 
horns hangs a thin (kin, which refembles the mouth of 
the locuft ; and it* is on account of this membrane that 
Tinnaeus calls this crab cancer crijlatus. On each tide of 
thefe horns are the eyes, fixed in large orbs, and mounted 
on the ends of certain pedunculi or (ferns, which the crab 
moves backwards and forwards out of the orb, to enable 
him to fee forward, backward, and alide. The feet coil- 
lift of five diflinff joints, and are furnifhed with little 
thorny points. The firft part of the foot is fliort, the 
three next are long, and that at the extremity refembles 
the claw of a bird. The claws are armed with pincers, 
which referable long and pointed nippers. The tail is 
com,poled of feveral joints, the firft of which is ftiorter 
than the reft, and they are all marked with crofs (tripes. 
Jt is the Indians and poor people only who eat them, fince 
they are not of a very good flavour. They are found 
both in the Eaft and Weft Indies, moftly concealed under 
the rocks covered with coral, where they retire in ftormy 
weather.’ There are other fobordinate lpecies of them, 
which are more or kfs long or large, or which have the 
C E R. 
fhell more arched, or the prickles more or lefs long. Nell 
tlier is tlie colour always the fame; for there are fome 
that have the fhell naturally white, and others fpotted 
with red. In the water they generally row with their 
claws and feet. A figure of this lingular fpecies is given 
at the top of the engraving. 
21. '1 he ruricola, land-crab, or violet-crab, with a 
fmooth entire thorax, and the two laft joints of the feet 
armed’ with fpines. It inhabits the Bahama iflands, as 
well as moft lands between the tropics ; and feeds upon 
vegetables. Thefe animals live not only in a kind of or¬ 
derly fociety in tiieir retreats in the mountains, but regu¬ 
larly once a year march down to the lea-fide in a body of 
fome millions at a time. As they multiply in great num- 
hers, they clioofe the month of April or May- to begin 
their expedition; and then fidly out by thoufands from 
the ftumps of hollow trees, from the clefts of rocks, and 
from the holes which they dig for themfelves under the 
furface of the earth. At that time the whole ground is 
covered with this band of adventurers; there is no fet- 
ting down one’s foot without treading upon them. The 
fea is their place of deftination, and to that they dfredfc 
their march with right-lined precifion. No< geometrician 
could fend them to their deftined ftation by a ftiorter 
courfe ; they neither turn to the right nor left, whatever 
obftacles intervene; and, even if they meet with a houfe, 
they will attempt to fcale the walls to keep the unbroken 
tenor of their way. But, though this be the general or¬ 
der of their route, they, upon other occafions, are obli¬ 
ged to conform to the face of the country; and, if it is 
interfered with rivers, they are then feen to wind along 
the courfe of the ftream. The proceflion fets forward 
from the mountains with the regularity of an army under 
the guidance of an experienced commander. They are 
commonly divided into three battalions; of which the 
firft conliits of the ftrongeft and boldeft males, that like 
pioneers, march forward to clear the route and face the 
greateft dangers. Thefe are often obliged to halt for want 
of rain, and to go into the moft convenient encampment 
till the weather changes. The main body of the army is 
compofed of females, which never leave the mountains 
till the rain is fet in for fome time, and then defeend in 
regular battalia, being formed into columns of fifty paces 
broad, and three miles deep, and fo clofe that they al- 
1110ft cover the ground. Three or four days after this, 
the rear-guard follows, a ftraggling undifciplined tribe, 
confifting of males and females, but neither fo robuft nor 
fo vigorous as the former. The night is their chief time 
of proceeding; but, if it rains by day, they do not fail to 
profit by the occafion ; and they continue to move for¬ 
ward in their flow uniform manner. When the fun ftiines 
and is hot upon the furface of tlie ground, they then 
make an univerfal halt, and wait till the cool of the even¬ 
ing. When they are terrified, they march back in a con- 
fufed diforderly manner, holding up their nippers, with 
which they f'ometinies tear off a piece of the fkin, and 
then leave the weapon w here they inflicted the wound. 
They even try to-intimidate their enemies ; for, they often 
clatter their nippers together, as if it were to threaten 
tliofe that come to difturb them. But, though they thus 
drive to be formidable to man, they are much more fo to 
each other; for they are poflelfed of one moft unfocial 
property, which is, that if any of them by accident is 
maimed, in fitch a manner as to be incapable of proceed¬ 
ing, the reft fall upon and devour it on the fpot, and then 
purfue their journey. When, after a fatiguing march, 
and efcaping a thoufand dangers, (for they are fometimes 
three months in getting to the (bore,) they have arrived 
at their deftined port, they prepare to caff their fpawn. 
The peas are as yet within their bodies, and not excluded, 
as is ufual in animals of this kind, under the tail ; for the 
creature waits for the benefit of fea-water to help the de¬ 
livery. For this purpofe the crab has no fooner reached 
the fttore, titan it eagerly goes to the edge of the water, 
gild lets the waves waflt over its body two or three times. 
This 
