Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1885-12-18
A short Chapter ON Crabs


does once IL month throughout the warm
season, it is probably the most helpless
creature in existence. 1t is merely a
lump of delicate, soft flesh, with soft,
boneless legs attached. 1t is as defence
less as the naked oyster would be. Any
fish could eat it. Any sea spider or sea
flea could kill it. 1t cannot move, as its
shea.hless legs are unable 20 support its
weight. Where the water teens with
fishes eager to devour one another, and
where eels, bloody and ever
hungry, ceaselessly beat their feeding
ground in search of food, it is surpris-
| ing that crabs are not eXterminated.
They would be if it were not for most
marvellous provision of nature. l AN
told by truthful men that when crab
! finds his she'll too small for him, that,
though usually the most unsocial and
| irritable of creatures, he makes signals
| of distress. True to the unwritten mar
! itime law that governs crab lie, the
fl rst hardshell crab that sees the plight
that his brother is in, hastens to him.
Reassured by the protective presence
of his relative, the crab that has out
grown his clothes cunningly shucks
himself out of them. This operation is
watched with great interest and consid-
erable excitement by the hardshelled
crab. When completed so thai the crab
lies unclad and helpless before him, he
does not eat him, as one would expect
such cross-grained and selfish crea-
ture to do. He waits until the soft crab
has tucked his unprotected legs under
him and folded his claws, as though
ayerfully beseeching Divine protec-
tion, and then he gently gets on top Of
his defenceless relative. He carefully
places his long legs under him, and
hugs him lightly and lovingly TO his
breast.
The hardshelled crab stands, or rather
lies, on his post OF duty staunchly.
When Oh guard, he will resolutely face
anything that swims in the water, and
fight with reckless courage. Eels, fish,
anything and everything that swoops
around the softshell crab will be fierce
lv attacked by the pop-eyed, bad-tem-
pered sentinel that is on duty. 1t is sell
dom that he will desert his post in the
! presence of man. When a softshelled
crab is taken in net, his protector is
generally secured also. If undisturbed
by man they do not leave their helpless
comrade until his shell Is sufficiently
hard to enable him to protect himself,
which is generally in from three to four
days. Then he walks off sideways, with
his eyes sticking out and his claws wav-
ing, as much as to say, "If you look
crooked at me, my little boy, III come
back and pinch you"
He knows that he has rendered a
great service to one Of his kind, and he
! confidently expects some other crab
to render him the same invaluable SER
vice in his hour of need; but he wants
no tenderness, no loving thanks. He
did it through his stern sense OF duty.
He knows his kind, and knows that any
stranger crab he meets during his tray-
els will answer his purpose as well as
the one he has befriended. So he sui
lenly retires TO the shade afforded by a
bit of a-weed, and there devotes his
attention to catching something to eat.
Crabs have the peculiar property Of
being able 10 shed, or throw of, their
limbs at will. They can, if 1t is neces-
sary to their safety, drop any or all
their legs, or either or both of their
claws. The mutilation is of slight con-
sequence, as new legs or claws speedily
grow. IL is no wonder that they fight
fiercely, since they know that the loss
of limbs will not disable them. have
seen comparatively small crabs firmly
held by a claw or leg by larger ones.
After struggling to free themselves a
minute, they would throw of the limb
by which they were held, and run away.
Where many crabs are confined in box
or basket, large numbers Of them will
drop one or both claws before they have
/ been confined an hour. Ii their legs
/ and claws are testeI when they are first
caught, il will be found that they are
( firmly attached to the body Of the crab.
Pull on the leg, one by one, and it will
be seen that any leg is sufficiently
strong to hold up the weight OF the
crab. Take hold of one Of the strong
fippers, the one you just held him up
| by, and hole him over the water. There
he has thrown of the hipper, aud has
fallen into the water, and is of.
What do crabs eat? EycrtIIing that
they come across that they can get
nourishment from. Dead fish, dead an
imals, bits Of meat or bread, vegetables
and some kinds of poorly protected
shell fish. They have intelligence, and
can and do dig clans for food. The
soft shelled or long necked clans bur-
row into the mud that lies on The bottom
of the bays to the depth Of from foul
inches TO one foot. The crabs know that
soft shelled clans can not shut their
shells tightly, and that they can cal
them. They find the clam bed, and, II
the clams are not deeply buried, they