THE MAILED WARRIORS OF THE SEA. 169 
a crab as can well be. In this state he swims about 
vigorously, and in seven or eight days, having cast 
off his coat several times, he loses his spine, his back 
becomes broader, and he becomes a tailed crab (2). 
Still he goes on swimming and clinging to seaweed 
or anything he can find, till, after moulting a few 
more times, his tail is folded under and he sinks to 
the bottom a true walking crab (3). 
A change or metamorphosis of this kind takes 
place in nearly all the Crustacea during their growth, 
though it is different in the various forms. 
After the crab has assumed his real shape he 
lives on the bottom of the sea, generally in deep 
water, and in the holes of the rocks, and fights 
bravely for his life among his companions. Only 
about four times in the year while he is young a 
season of fear and anxiety comes upon him, for his 
shell will not allow him to grow any larger and he 
must part with his strong armour. Then he creeps 
into the darkest hole he can find, and, throwing him- 
self upon his back, swells out his body till he forces 
his covering shield to break away from the under 
part, and so he creeps out. He does this with much 
pain and difficulty, for his claws are much larger than 
the joints through which they have to be pulled, and 
they are often cut and lacerated in the process. 
He could not, in fact, get out at all if it were not 
that his flesh becomes watery before he casts his 
shell. Every housekeeper knows and avoids buying 
a watery crab, in which the flesh is poor and thin 
and the shell is half filled with fluid. When his 
shell is cast the crab waits trembling in his hole for 
a new layer of lime to form before he can venture 
