Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-03-12
An Odd Fellow.

! Odd should think so! Why, he car
| rIes his house on his back, and has his
teeth on his legsi
That's tough story, but-dear mel
| it's nothing to what you will have to be-
lieve when you come to study the curious
creatures that live in the sea.
AS to carrying his house about with
him, that is nothing new-all crabs and
| turtles do that but | must admit he's the
only fellow | ever heard of who has teeth
on his legs. If you and / are not &C
qualnted with him, it is merely because
we haven't been prying into the domestic
manners of the crab family all these years,
as some scientific gentlemen have. They
have known about him these many
years, and he has even got into the die
tionary. Look in Webster's big diction-
airy, at the word Limulus, and you'll see
picture of him. Limulus, you must
know, is his grand Latin name, which he
doesn't wear at home in the sea. There
he is called Horse-foot Crab or King
Crab.
And there's another dron thing about
him-he's just the shape of the bottom Of
a horses foot, with long, sharp tail strik-
ing out at the heel. He's funny sight
when he is digging-and digging is his
shell is in two pieces; the front piece
bends down and shovels up the dirt, the
back piece bends down the other way,
| and the hard, sharp tail braces against the
ground, while all his feet-eight or ten
! there are-throw out the dirt on both
sides. 1t doesn't take long for him to
| burrow into the mud out of sight.
| But [ haven't told you about those use
| full legs, which do the work of Jaws, be-
sides their regular business of carrying
| their owner about.
There are five pairs of them, besides a
| short pair in front, called feelers, or an
, tennB, if you want the book name. The
| first four pairs are furnished with sharp
teeth-lots of them, sometimes as many
as hundred and fifty.
When this comical gentleman wants to
eat he seizes soft worm, or some other
sea delicacy, with his two hind feet, and
holds it up to his mouth, which is con-
veniently placed among all these useful
legs. Then the hundred and fifty sharp
little teeth go to work and rasp the food
into bits, and the mouth takes it in.
How do you suppose all this was found
| out? A naturalist, who was curious to
see what the horse-foot did with the food
that he always pulled under his shell,
waited till he was hard at work at his din
ner, and then very coolly turned him over
on his back. Mr.. Limulus was too busy
to mind, SO he went on eating, and the
naturalist saw the whole performance.
But haven't told you half the wonder
full things about him. When he is first
Matched he is quarter of an inch in
diameter, has no tail, and has a shell just
the right size for him, of course. When
he gets bigger he cCtgrows the shell, as
you youngsters do your clothes, and he
has to get out of the old suit It's very
droll sight to see him come out of him
self in that way. He don't have so much
trouble about it as Holsters and some
other crabs do--he just splits open the
front edge of his shell and pulls himself
out But you know he has been growing
some time since that baby suit fitted him,
and the fact is, he has been very much
crowded these last few days So when he
gets fairly out of the shell he swells out
an inch or two bigger than he was before,
and in short time he has another shell
big enough for him, besides little, sharp
tail.
So he goes on as long as he lives,
throwing off his old shells and getting
new ones.
This interesting little fellow is well
suppiled WIN eyes, having two large ones
up high on the shell, to see ali about
with, and two more in front.
| must tell you how Mamma Horse
foot makes her nursery. In May or June,
when she has perhaps half pint of eggs
under her shell, and when the tide is in
that IS, the water is up high on the shore
she comes up ON the sand as far as she
can without getting out of the water She
then digs hole, and puts the eggs into
1t-and that's just all she does about it,
and she never sees one of the babies.
The next wave covers these eggs up
with sand, the hot sun matches them out,
and the little ones know everything be-
longing to crabs education and can
take care of themselves the minute they
come out of the shell. But the drolIest
part OF the business is the behavior OF Mt
Limulus. He wants to see that the eggs
are properly laid in the sand, and ne
doesn't want the trouble of walking, SO
the lazy fellow jumps upon Mamma Linn
l Min cJ ohan 1ot1 har