46 
FINDING NATURE’S TREASURES 
hand, and with your other hand catch the crawfish by 
its back, just behind the pincers. You must do it quickly.” 
Buddy grabbed the crawfish, as his uncle told him, 
and held it up. It waved its big pincers around, trying 
to get hold of him. 
“Let me take it,” said Uncle Jack, “and IT1 tell you 
about it. The crawfish has this hard shell all over its 
back, and so is not easily hurt. When the crawfish grows 
too big, the old shell cracks open on the back, and the 
crawfish comes out in a new soft one. This shell also be¬ 
comes hard after a few days.” 
“Four of its legs have little pincers,” added Fred. 
“Yes, but it is the pair of legs near the head that have 
the big ones. These are made for fighting, and for catch¬ 
ing worms and tiny fish for the crawfish to eat. This big 
strong tail is used for swimming.” Uncle Jack turned 
the crawfish over, so that they could see the under side. 
“Oh! See all those little white things under the tail!” 
cried Bess. “Why, they are alive and they all have tiny 
pincers, too!” 
“We are lucky,” exclaimed Uncle Jack. “This is a 
mother crawfish and her whole family of babies.” 
The children put their heads so close to see, that Mother 
Crawfish almost pinched Fred’s nose. 
“How do those baby crawfish hang on?” asked Buddy. 
“They stick to those paddle-like things under their 
mother’s tail. In the spring when she is ready to lay her 
eggs, she covers those little paddles, called swimmerets, 
with waterproof glue. Then she sticks her eggs on them 
