The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1888-02-25
CRABS AND THEIR IRREGULARITIES.
When 1t Sheds Its SheII-PrOtective Pres
ence of a Friend-FoOd.

When 1t Sheds Its sheII-Protective Pres
ence of Friend-FOOd.
frank wiIkeson in New York SUM-
When a crab sheds it's shell, which it
does once a 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, homeless legs attached. 1t is
as defenSeless as a naked oyster would
be. Any fish could eat it. Any sea
spider or sea-tiea could kill it. 1t can
not move, as its sheathless legs are I'M
able to support its weight. Where the
water teens with fishes eager to devour
one another, and where cells, bloody
minded and ever hungry, ceaselessy
beat their feeding ground in search of
food, 1t IS surprising that crabs are not
eAterminated. They would be if it
were not for a most marvellous provision
of nature | am told by truthful men
that when crab finds his shell too
small for him that, though usually the
most unsOcial and irritable or creatures,
he makes signals of distress True to
the unwritten maritime law that gov
ems crab life, the first 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
cradle excitement by the bard-shelled
crab When completed so that the crab
lies unclad and helpless before him, he
does not eat him, as enc would expect
such a crOssgrained and selfish creature
to do. He waits until the soft crab has
tucked his unprotected legs under him
and folded his claws, as though prayer
fully beseeching DiVine protection, and
then he gently gets on top of his de-
fenceleSS 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 stanchly. When
on guard. be will resolutely face any
thing that swims in the water, and
fight with reckless courage. Eels, fish,
anything and everything that swoOpS
around the SOftshell crab will be tiercely
attacked by the pop-eyed, bad-tempered
sentinel that is on duty. 1t is seldom
that he will desert his post in the pres
ence of man. When a sOftshelled crab
is taken in net, his protector is gen
orally secured also. If undisturoed 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
waving, as much as to say, eff you
look crooked at me, my little boy, I'll
come back and pinch you"
lie knows that he has rendered a
great service to one of his kind, and he
cOnhdentially expects some other crab
to renuer him the same in aluable serv-
ice IN his hour of need; but he wants no
tenderness, no loving thanks. lie did
1t through his stern sense Of duty. He
knows his kind, and knows that any
stranger crab he meets during his travels
will answer his purpose as we'll as the
one he has befriended. So he sullenly
retires to the shade afforded ny bit of
seaweed and there devotes his attention
to catching something to eat.
Crabs have the peculiar property of
being able to shed, or throw OF, their
limbs at will They can, if it is ne ces-
sary to their safety, drop any or all
their legs, or either or both of their
claws. The mutilation is of but slight
consequence, as new legs or claws
speedily grow. 1t is no wonder
that they fight tiercely, since they
know that the loss of limbs will not dis
able them. | nave seen comparatively
small crabs firmly held by claw or leg
by larger ones. After struggling to free
themselves a minute, they would throw
off the limb by which they were held,
and run away. Where many crabs are
confined in box or basket, large num-
bers of them will drop one or both claws
before they have been confined an hour
If their legs and claws are tested when
they are first caught, it will be found
that they are firmly attached to the
body of the crab. Pull on the legs, 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 fiippers, the one you just
held him up by, and hold lin over the
water There he has thrown OF the
tiipper, and has fallen into the water
and is off.
What do crabs eat2 Everything that
they come across that they can chaw
nourishment from. Dead fish, dead
animals, bits of me + or bread, v2ge-
tables, and some kinds of poorly pro
tected shell fish. They have intelli-
gence, and can and do dig CLANS for
food. The soft shelled or lOng-necked
CLANS burrow into the mud that lies on
the bottom Of the bays to the depth of
from four inches to one foot. The
crabs know that Soft-shelled CLANS can
not shut their shells tightly, and that
they can eat them. They find the clam
bed, and, if the CLANS are not deeply
buried, they dig them up and eat them.