The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1889-11-29
CONCERNING CRABS.
Habits Of the Different Varieties Of These
Peculiar Creatures.

Peculiar Creatures.
fvery kind of animal becomes interesting
as snon as it is made an object of study, and
probably there are no animals about which
new facts do not romain 20 be discovered.
Undoubtedly it was matter OF great sur
prise when some one announced, for the first
time, that tadpolcs or polliwogs, were moth
ing hut young frogs, Something precisely
like this l. known 10 have happened within
little less than tfty years Up 60 that time
the relation Of young crabs 90 thcir parents
was not even suspected, and the young
which have long tails and swimming append
ages, were known 10 biologists as gooaS
Grabs are highly developed members OF the
great class ~ the crustacca, a class of which
tho lobster i,, perhaps, the boa known repre-
sentative, Grabs have ten legs, the forward
pair being enlarged and modified 80 as 10
form nippcrs The male has larger nippcrs,
on claws, than the female, and the right claw
is larger than tho left In other words,
crabs, like human beings, are righthandod.
The sexes differ greatly m appearance, aud
In some kinds tho difference Is 80 great that
tho male and female have boon described and
classified as separate species, Among tho
most curious In this respect are the littlc pea
crabs dimnutive creatures, which tako up
their residence inside the shells Of living
hlyalve molmskS Ancient writer's gavo
highly fanciful descriptions OF this alliance
between cr'Istacca and mollusk
According 10 one account, whenever "A par.
ticlc OF food 1oatcd within the gaping cir
cult of the SHE'LL the Wide awake crab
pricked the tender side, 'ofsits sluggish part
ner, who understood the signal, and forth.
with closed his shell and caught tho morscl
Thus led 10y mutual all, the friendly pair
Divide their gains, and all the pundcr share
The great, or edible, crab Of Europe often
measure. twelve inches across the back of tho
she'll, aud sometimes weighs twelve pounds
Great numbers are caught for the markets
and in recent years steps have been taken 10
provont their determination. Tho common
method Of capture is in wicker work "crab
pots From such traps the crabs are trans
fcrrcd 10 perforated boxes, which arc sunk
into the sea until their contents are needed.
In somo cases, nt least, the crabs are brand
cd ~ they are put into the boxes. In ono in
stance, on the coast Of Great Britain, the box
went 10 pieces, and shortly aftorwnrd tho
branded crabs were, many of them, caught
again upon their original feeding ground.
They had been carried eleven miles in "A boat
by what means did they lnd their way
backi
Crabs like other Of the lower animals,
have sources Of knowledge which, % human
yicw. seem very mysterious, II not absolutely
inscrulnblo Tho violet land crabs Of ia.
maica live In colonies, often two or three
miles from the sea, 60 which they mako "A
Journey onco ycur-in spawning time.
Then they march straight for their dcstina.
tion, aud act quite as IL they had the ocean
already in sight
Besides their usefulness rs food, crabs,
along with Holsters and other crustacca, ren.
der incalculnbo service ns scavongors, greed.
lily dcvouring animal matter even Ia putres
cent state But for their little appreciated
labors In this line-as n kind Of sanitary
police mnny Of our seaside resorts would he
extremely unwholcsomo.
The so called robbcr crab iuhnbits somo Of
the islands Of the Indian ocean, aud makes it,
burrow under the coconnut trees tho fruit Of
which forms its principal food The dcproda-
tious Of these robbers arc a really serious
matter 10 the owners Of the cocoauut groves.
In order o. secure the meat 81 tho nuts, tho
crabs strip OIL the ilbrous covering ~ as to
get at the eye spotA Then they insert the
sharp end Of n claw, aud, by working IL back
aud forth. scoop out the edible substance
Tho outer covering Il used In lining their
burrows They colcct enough 30 fill bushel
basket, and the natives IN turn break into tho
burrows u search Of materials for mattresses
and ropes
Many kinds of crabs inhnbit tho shores Of
tho United Stntos. Some Of the bcst known
are the large horseshoe or king crab, notice.
able for is size and long tail; tho tiny oyster
crab, tho female Of which lives inside the
shell of tho oyster aud is familiar 30 almost
every ono In that connections, the spider
crab, the hermit crab and especially the blue
crab, which h the one most frequently seen
upon tho tables in this country, aud IL often
called tho soft shell crab, because u IA com
monty eaton jult after IL has moltcd.-
Youths Companion.