CHAPTER VII 
A TALK ABOUT CRABS 
HE majority of people if asked to give 
A a brief description of a crab would 
probably define it as a crustacean or, to use 
a more popular term, a shellfish that dwells 
in the sea, and although this description may 
be applicable to most species, yet it is in¬ 
correct in regard to others, for some five in 
fresh water, and those known as land-crabs 
pass the greater part of their existence upon 
terra firma. 
Before, however, we introduce the reader 
to the more interesting forms of crabs that are 
to be found in various parts of the world, it 
may be of interest to give a brief account of 
their development and transformation. 
All undergo a series of changes before they 
attain their adult form, the larva, after leaving 
the egg, which, by the way, may be no larger 
than a mustard seed, being a diminutive and 
transparent body possessing six arm-like appen¬ 
dages. It is then spoken of as being in the 
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