well known to every sea-side visitor. This is the Sea Flea, or Sand
Hopper, as it is popularly called, and because of its saltitary powers,
young ladies in dainty boots keep at a most respectful distance from
the scene of its performances, and rival the hopper himself in the
agility with which they bound off on unwittingly invading the haunts
of that nimble little gentleman. Lift but a tuft of half-dried weed,
fragment of stranded wreck, stone, or tenantless shell, and up leap a
whole army of Hoppers, like as many peas on a drum-head. They appear
more vegetarian in their tastes than most other of their crustacean
family connexions, subsisting mainly on the various weeds found
scattered among the rocks. Fish and many other marine creatures feed
voraciously on them, and the Cornish chough, in his black satin coat
and scarlet stockings, picks them with marvellous dexterity with his
coral-coloured, forceps-like beak, from amongst the tangled web of
sea-cords and ocean-ribbons in which they delight to harbour. The
poor, frost-beset starling, too, when the white snow lies thick on
the pastures, and the pitiless north-east wind whistles down the
vale, finds amongst the oar-weed heaps cast up at high-tide level,
Sand Hoppers enough to prolong his wee-bird life till milder winds
and better times smile, on the land and him. So even the most pigmy
atoms of creation perform their allotted parts in the great plan which
an all-wise Providence has so wisely laid down for created beings,
and we become lost in wonder, at the marvellous and inscrutable laws
brought to bear in its furtherance. The saltness of the sea, the metal
iodine residing in its countless myriads of weeds, the migrations of
the mighty hosts of fish, the ebbing and flowing of the tide, the
labours of the coral insect, the strange sponge-growths, trade winds,
and warm currents setting in from one region to another, all evince
the operation of laws, far too vast for man, with all his boasted
power, to penetrate or understand. As there are “sermons in stones,
voices in running brooks, and good in everything,” so is there beauty
and evidence of Divine foresight to be found under every fragment of
drift-wood, cast between the rocks; each upturned stone discloses some
wonder of creation, and as the mighty billows thunder on the strand and
carry in their backward rush the beds of ever-wearing shingle, fretting
and grinding with them, frail humanity can but look from nature, up to
nature’s God, and feel its own utter insignificance.
The ocean’s broad expanse, when lulled in calm tranquillity, is no
less a subject for pleasant and profound meditation, and he who seeks
a field for peaceful reflection may find it by drifting away on the
unruffled bosom of the deep; and as the bark bears him slowly onward,
Montgomery’s lines will not fail to strike his memory:--
“Sky, sun, and sea, were all the universe,
The sky, one blue interminable arch
Without a breeze, or wing, or cloud; the sun
Sole in the firmament, but in the deep
Redoubled; where the circle of the sea,
Invisible with calmness, seems to lie
Within the hollow of a lower heaven.”
We could willingly thus gossip on, and prolong the journey on which
our companion the reader has so far accompanied us, but all rambles
amongst the rocks, or elsewhere, must have an end; our journey in
search of crustacean lore can be no exception to this stern law, and we
bid our fellow-pilgrim a cordial adieu until we meet again to ramble
forth, staff in hand, cockle-shell in hat, and wallet on shoulder, to
gather fresh stores of some other lore, so lavishly scattered along the
pleasant paths where Nature, in all her goodness and beauty, beckons us
to follow.
INDEX.
A.
Anemone, the, 44.
_Anthozoa_, the living blossoms of the ocean, 31.
Apicius, his love of crabs, 3;
his journey to Africa in search of crayfish, 103.
_Apus productus_, his curious habits, 88.
Australia, a land of contradictions, 66, 67.
_Ava_, wreck of the, 111, 112;
diving for the treasure, 112.
B.
Baby Crabs, their curious forms and habits, 4.
Baits, different kinds of, 19.
_Bêche-de-mer_, the, 69;
in great request in China, 69.
Billingsgate Market, 81;
number of lobsters brought to, 94, 95.
_Birgus latro_, the, 45;
his habits, 48, 51.
Bismuth, change of colour effected by, 27.
Boat’s creeper, use of the, 11.
Boiling of crabs, 25;
on the change of colour during the process, 26.
_Bopyrus crangorum_, a parasite crustacean, 87.
Burrowing crabs, 45, 57.
C.
Cancer of the Zodiac, 1;
representation of the, 1, 2;
depicted in heraldic devices, 3.
_Cancer dentatus_, the, 63.
_Cancer pagurus_, the edible crab of the shops, 8.
“Cape pigeons,” 66.
“Cape salmon,” 66.
_Cardium exignum_, 43.
Chads, capture of, 18.
Chemistry, judgments created by, 27.
Cherry of Australia, 67.
Cochineal bug, colour produced by the, 27.
Cocoa-nut eating crab, the, 45, 46, 48.
Colour, change of, in boiling crabs, 26.
Colours produced by different agencies, 27.
Columbus, anecdote of, 67.
Conger eels, their habits, 102.
Coral-formed islands of the South Seas, 51.
Coral reefs, marine creatures of the, 30.
Cork-float, use of the, 19.
Crabbe, the poet, lines from, 31.
Crabbers, the professional ones, 9, 11.
Crab-fishing, account of, 10, 11;
materials to be provided, 11;
by juveniles, 28;
to be pursued at very low tides, 79.
Crab-hook, use of the, 22.
Crab-hunting expedition, 49.
Crab-pots, or baskets for capturing crabs, 9, 11;
of great utility, 14.
Crab-sausages, the Roman method of preparing, 3.
Crab whelks, 34.
Crabs, historical notices of, 1, _et seq._;
the “Cancer” of the ancients, 2;
the baby crabs, or _Zoëa_, 4:
internal economy as curious as his external skeleton, 5;
his liver an odd organ, _ib._;
his lungs or gills, 6;
the shell-shifting process of, _ib._;
his unenviable position between the loss of his old shell and the
secret of a new one, 7;
the large edible crab of the shops, the most important member of
the crab family, 8;
the various methods by which crabs can be taken, 9, 10;
the hooks and implements in general use, 11, _et seq._;
the use of the gut-knot, 17;
a great number taken with the crab-hook, 22;
methods of using it, 23;
tenacity of their grip, _ib._;
how the haunts of the crab are discovered, 24;
their pugnacity, _ib._;
judgment required to select a good crab for table, 24, 25;
how to discover the sexes, 25;
proper mode of boiling, _ib._;
the change of colour during the process, 26, _et seq._;
crab-fishing of juveniles, 28;
the harbour or shore crab, 29;
the swimming crab, _ib._;
the velvet swimming crab, 30;
spider crabs, 32, 33;
hermit crabs, 33;
crab-whelks, 34;
pea-crabs, 34, 41;
contained in the Philippine Island sponge, 35, 37;
small crabs in the shells of the great silk-yielding mussel, 39;
the _Pinna muricata_, 40-42;
the burrowing crabs, 45;
the great cocoa-nut eating crab, _ib._;
excellent oil produced by, 49;
crab-hunting expeditions, 48, 50;
the land crab, 52;
termination of the spawning season, 54;
their cunning and activity, 54, 55;
their quaint proceedings among the Mahratta jungles, 55;
the genus _Thelphusa_ and its habits, 55, 56;
the sand crab, 57;
the _Gelasimus_, _ib._;
the king crab, 58;
humorous anecdote of, 60;
crab-life on the coasts of Japan, 61, 62;
on the coasts of Tasmania, 62;
on the Chilian coasts, 63;
the Chinese crab, _ib._;
the various and general species, 63, _et seq._;
the goat crab, 64;
the _Parthenope horrida_, _ib._;
the _Dromia lator_, 64, 65;
the _Echinocerus cibarius_, 65;
the _Pilumnus nespertilis_, 66;
the _Planes minutus_, 67, 68;
the floating crabs, 68;
the Southern Seas inhabited by legions of crabs, 68, 69;
modes of catching them, 70, 71.
Crawfish of America, 86.
Cray-fish, or craw-fish, artificially propagated, 94;
its natural habits, 100;
fishing for, 100, 101;
Walpole’s account of, 102;
journey of Africans in quest of, 103;
huge dimensions of, as recorded by Pliny, 104;
tables of ancient Rome often garnished with, 104;
the common one of rivers, 106;
its great abundance, 107;
its natural habits, 107;
various methods for capturing them, 108;
shifts his shell, 109;
wonderfully prolific, 109;
held in high esteem by the Greeks and Romans, 110.
Creepers, use of the, 11, 12.
Crustaceans, their shell-shifting process, 6, 7;
of the deep, 31;
the principal food of the salmonidæ, 12;
endless types of, in the Southern and Eastern Seas, 61;
their monstrous size and strength, 62;
troughs for hatching, 93;
their proximity to other races, 99.
Cuffee’s attack on the land crabs, 53, 54.
Cup-shrimps, 82.
Cuttle-fish, the, 40, 41.
_Cyamus ceti_, the, 84.
D.
Diver, fearful incident connected with the, 111, 112.
Dredges for shrimping, 76.
Dress for shrimping, 79.
_Dromia lator_, the, 64.
E.
_Echinocerus cibarius_, the, 65.
Eel-basket, how constructed, 10.
Eel-grass, 99.
_Euplectella_, the, 38.
F.
Feejee Islands, affection of a chief for a little midshipman, 3.
Fairy shrimp, the, 87.
Fiddler crab, the, 29.
Fish, hooking of, 18.
Fish-hooks, how to manage them, 12.
Fishing, implements proper for, 17, 18.
Fishing leads, 20.
Fishing-tackle, of great utility, 14.
Floating crabs, 68.
Float-line, mackerel-fishing with the, 19.
Flower-basket of the Philippine Islands, 35, 36;
its curious shape and texture, 38.
Frame-reel, use of the, 15.
G.
_Gelasimus_, a genus of crab, 57;
his curious habits, 58.
Goat crab, the, 64.
Gray, Dr., on Venus’s flower-basket, 38, 39.
Greenland whale, fed by shrimps, 83.
Gut-knot, use of the, 17.
H.
Half-hitches, use of, 13.
Hand-line fishing, 15.
Harbour crab, the, 29.
Hermit crabs, 33.
Hooking of fish, 18.
Hoop-net, the, 80.
J.
Japan, crustacean life on the coasts of, 61.
K.
Keer-drag, for shrimping, 75.
Killick, use of the, 11.
King-Crab, of the Eastern Seas, 58.
L.
Land crabs, 52;
their extraordinary march towards the sea, 53;
their return after the spawning season, 54;
attack on, 55.
Landing-net and gaff, 14.
Leads for fishing, 20, 21.
_Leucosia urania_, the, 63.
Liver of the crab, 5, 6.
Lobster-fishing, its great importance, 94, 95.
Lobster pigment, soluble in spirits of wine, 26.
Lobster season, 97.
Lobster-shell green, 27.
Lobsters, historical notices of, 90, _et seq._;
their powers of vision, 91;
modes of capturing them, 92;
their prolific nature, _ib._;
plans for artificial fecundation, and apparatus for, 93;
numbers of brought to Billingsgate Market, 94, 95;
large importation of, _ib._;
their popularity extends to all parts of the world, 96;
strange use of them during the Indian war, _ib._;
shifting of their shells, when they become unfit for human food, 97;
their care of offspring, 98;
abundant on the coasts of British North America, _ib._;
captured by pic-nic parties, _ib._;
the spined lobster, 100;
the crayfish variety, 100-102;
swarms of, in the South American Seas, 102;
fishing for, _ib._;
found on the coral reefs of the Mauritius, 105.
(See _Crayfish_.)
Loop slip, use of the, 13.
Lucky stones, anecdote of the, 59.
M.
Mackerel-fishing, 19.
_Macrocheira-kœmpferi_, the, 62.
Mauritius, the coral reefs of, the great resort of Crayfish, 105.
Mauve dresses, &c., tincture imparted to the, 27.
_Medusidæ_, family of the, 31.
_Mithraculus coronatus_, the, 63.
_Mytilus edulis_, 41.
N.
_Neptunus pelagicus_, the, 63.
Nets for shrimping, 75.
Nets for shrimp-catching, 80.
Nut crab, the, 59;
anecdote of the, _ib._
O.
Ocean, its broad expanse, a subject for profound meditation, 117.
_Oceanus crucifer_, 63.
Opossum of the shrimp family, 83, 84;
fed on by the whale, 84.
_Ou-Ou_, the, 45;
his habits, 48.
Oyster-knife, Roman, found near Cirencester, 3, _note_.
P.
Pagurus, the, 44.
_Parthenope horrida_, 64.
Pea-crab, the, 34, 41.
Phipps, Captain, anecdote of, 113;
his treasure-seeking adventures, 114;
his important discoveries, 115;
knighted by James II., _ib._
Pic-nic parties for lobster-fishing, 98.
_Pilumnus nespertilis_, the, 66.
Pinna, 39, 40;
a shell-fish, 42;
lines on, by Oppiannus, 42;
different species of the, 41, 43.
_Pinnotheres_, varieties of, 43, 44.
_Planes minutus_, 67, 68.
Plume corals, 113.
Pole net for shrimping, 77, 78.
_Porcellana longicornis_, the, 61.
Pouting, capture of, 18.
Prawns, historical notices of, 73, _et seq._;
capture of, 77;
their aquatic haunts, 78;
catching of, 80;
their estimated value, 81;
an excellent bait for salmon, 82;
of very large size in the Carribean Sea, 86;
parasite on the carapace of, _ib._
(See _Shrimp_.)
R.
Rag-worm, use of, as a bait, 18.
Reels, use of, 16.
Robins of the United States, 66.
Rod-fishing, 18.
Rods useful in fishing, 17.
Romans, crabs appreciated by the, 2, 3.
Round plait prepared salmon line, 15.
S.
Salmon-trip, how constructed, 10.
Sand-crab, the, 57.
Sand hopper, its natural habits, 116.
Sand raiser, the, 72, 73.
Sand-shrimp, the, 73.
Sea fishing-tackle, of great utility, 14.
Sea-flea, its natural habits, 116.
_Sepia_, or cuttle-fish, 40.
Serpent orders of the Indian Seas, lines on the, 32.
Shark, fearful visit of the, 112.
Shell-shifting process of crabs, 6;
its difficulties and discomforts, 7.
Shell, the inhabitants often dispossessed, and occupied by another,
33.
Shore-crab, the, 29.
Shrimp-fisheries for the supply of London and other markets, 81.
Shrimps, historical notices of, 73, _et seq._;
often confounded with prawns, 73;
named the “Sand-raiser,” 74;
their cunning, _ib._;
contrivances for catching them, 74, _et seq._;
materials and implements for catching them, 79;
dress for, _ib._;
advantage to be taken of low tides, 80;
hoop-net used for taking them, _ib._;
fisheries for, 81;
enormous quantities of, consumed in London, 81, 82;
the endless variety of, yielded by the Indian and Chinese Seas, 85;
and also by lakes, ponds, and streams, 87, 88;
the fairy shrimp, 87.
(See _Prawns_.)
Silk-worm gut, 15.
Silk-yielding mussel, 39.
Skeleton of the crab, 5.
Slugs, value of in the Chinese market, 71.
Slug-hunters, 70.
Smelts, capture of, 19.
Soldier crabs, 33.
South Seas, coral-formed islands of the, 51.
Southern Seas, inhabited by legions of crabs, 68, 69.
Spawning season of the land-crabs, 54.
Spider crabs, 32, 33.
Squat lobsters, 99.
Swimming crabs, 29.
T.
Table, selection of a thoroughly good crab for the, 24, 25.
_Thelphusa fluviatilis_, a genus of crab, 55;
religions anciently connected with the, 57.
Traps for catching crabs, 10.
Traveller blocks, use of the, 21.
Trepang of the Southern Seas, 69;
process of boiling, 70.
Troughs for hatching crustacea, 93.
Trout-hooks, 18, 19.
V.
Velvet swimming crab, the, 30.
Venus’s flower-basket, of the Philippine Islands, 35, 36;
its curious texture, 36.
W.
Walpole’s account of fishing for crayfish, 102.
Whelk-shells, 34.
Whiting, capture of, 18.
Y.
Yoke-lines used in shrimping, 75.
R. CLAY, SON, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS, DREAD STREET HILL.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
Obvious typos and missing characters corrected. However, the following
have been left unchanged from the original: author’s spelling of
“hybernation”, “Macrocheira-kœmpferi”; extra closing bracket on page 57.
The text on page 74, which describes the illustration “The Dredge”, has
incorrectly referred to part A on the illustration with a lowercase “a”.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation retained.
Missing punctuation in index corrected.
The positions of some illustrations were moved to enhance readability.
Page numbers from the original list of illustrations have been retained.