THE SAVAGE WORLD. 55 
columns, and never becoming disordered unless their ranks be broken by vio¬ 
lent attack. 
The Edible Crab (. Neptunus hostatus) is the best known and highest 
prized Crustacea among Americans, because it constitutes no inconsiderable part 
of the food product of our people, ranking next to the oyster. This species is 
found in great abundance from the shores of Labrador to Mexico, and though 
countless numbers are consumed every year, while no efforts have been made 
at their cultivation or protection, yet it is quite as plentiful now as at any 
other period. Its haunts are about the 
muddy shallows, and especially where 
grasses grow, and it may be easily taken 
in many ways. The common method 
employed, however, is by the setting of 
creels, or pots, into which the crab is 
enticed by bits of fish or tainted meat. 
Being a .voracious feeder, it will not 
quit its repast until drawn out of water. 
In fishing about inlets it is more com¬ 
mon to draw up a crab, holding on to 
the bait with its claws, than to take 
fishes, which makes it a very pest to 
angling sportsmen. Like all the Crusta¬ 
cea, the shell is shed every spring or 
summer, at which time its flesh is held 
in the highest esteem, though many 
are consumed at all seasons of the 
year. It rarely grows to a size exceed¬ 
ing three inches in diameter. 
The Common European Crab 
('Cancer pagurus) may be taken as the 
type of a numerous family. Its shell 
is round in front and narrowed as it 
proceeds backward. The legs are short, 
but the claws are disproportionately 
large and not symmetrical. It dwells 
in deep water and is caught by crab- 
pots, though sometimes by a net. 
The American soft-shell crab is the 
lupea dicantha , caught after shedding 
their old shells and before they have 
assumed the new. It is considered a 
great delicacy, although a fondness for it is probably an acquired taste. Crab¬ 
bing is among the commonest amusements on the Jersey coast, and in the 
Southern salt-water lakes. A piece of meat tied to a cord is always a sufficient 
bait, and the creature, “ having once put his hands upon it,” will not let it go 
so long as it is in the water. Crab-fishing requires no skill, and involves no 
danger greater than' a nip to the careless fisherman. The Eastern crabs are 
not so palatable as those found in Southern waters. 
The Worm Crab (. Lerncsa branchialis ) is found upon the gills of the 
