part of the body, or of the other legs with it. Then on a sudden with a gentle crack. the wounded part of the leg drops off. If a hole be pierced in the great leg, the effect will be the same; and the large limb is thrown off in the same manner, only with greater violence. A mucus then overspreads the wound, which presently stops bleeding; and a small leg is by degrees produced which gradually attains the size of the former. Nature has given this singular power to these creatures, for the preservation of their lives in their frequent quarrels. In these, one crab lays hold of the claw of another, and crushes it in such a manner, that it would bleed to death, had it not the power of giving up the limb, and healing the wound.

However different in figure the lobster and the crab may seem, their manners are nearly the same. Though without any warmth in their bodies, or even red blood, they are wonderfully voracious. Whatever they seize upon that has life is sure to perish, though never so well defended: they even devour each other; and, to increase our surprise, they may in some measure, be said to eat themselves, as they change their shell and their stomach every year, and their old stomach is generally the first morsel that serves to glut the new.

What this animal differs in from all others, is that the spinal marrow is in the breast bone. It is furnished with two long feelers or horas, that issue on each side of the head, to correct the dimness of its sight and apprize the animal of its danger or of its prey. The tail is the grand instrument of motion; and with this it can raise itself in the water.

When the young lobsters leave the parent, they seek for refuge in the smallest clefts of rocks, and in crevices at the bottom of the sea. There they grow larger n a few weeks, from the accidental substances which the water washes to their retreats. By this time also they acquire a hard firm shell, which furnishes them with both offensive and defensive armour. They then issue from their fortresses, and creep along the bottom, in hopes of meeting with plunder. The spawn of fish, the smaller animals of their own kind, but chiefly the worms that keep at the bottom of the sea, supply them with plenty They keep in this manner close among the rocks, busily employed in scratching up the sand with their claws for worms, or surprising such heedless animals as fall within their grasp thus they have little to apprehend, except from each other, for in them, as among fishes, the large are the most formidable of all enemies to the small.

But the body of the lobster still continuing to increase, the animal soon becomes too large for its habitation. In general, all animals change their sh once a year; and this is a most painful operation. Their moulting season is generally about the begin

wing of summer at which time their food is in plenty, and their strength and vigour in the highest perfection. But soon all their activity ceases they seek some retired situation among the rocks, where they remain in safety from the attacks of their various enemies. For some days before their change, the animal discontinues its usual voraciousness; it is no longer seen harrowing up the sand at the bottom, or fighting with others of its kind, or hunting its prey it lies torpid and motionless. Just before casting its shell, it throws itself upon its back, strikes its claws against each other, and every limb seems to tremble; its feelers are agitated, and the whole body is in violent motion. It then swells itself in an unusual manner, and at last the shell begins to divide at its junctures; particularly at the junctures of the belly, where like a pair of jumps, it was before but seemingly united. It also seems turned inside out; and its stomach comes away with its shell. After this it disengages itself of the claws, which burst at the joints; the animal, with a tremulous motion, casting them off, as a man would kick off a boot that was too big for him.

Thus this wonderful creature is at liberty; but so weak that it continues for several hours motionless. Indeed, so violent and painful is the operation, that many of them die under it; and those which survive, for some time, neither take food, nor venture from their retreats. Immediately after this change, they have not only the softness, but the timidity of a worm. Every animal of the deep is then a powerful enemy, which they can nei ther escape, nor oppose: and this is the time when the dog-fish, the cod, and the ray devour them by hundreds. But this state continues for a very short time in less than two days, the skin that covered its body is grown almost as hard as before.

When the lobster is completely equipped in its new shell, it appears how much it has grown in the space of a very few days. The old shell being compared with those of the new, it is increased above a third in its size; and like a boy that has outgrown his clothes, it seems wonderful how the deserted shell was able to contain so great an animal as entirely fills up the new.

It may be worth observing, that lobsters use their tails as fins, wherewith they commonly swim backward, by jerks or springs, reaching sometimes ten yards at a spring. For this purpose, as the gill-fins of other fishes, which are their oars, are a little concave backward, these have the plates of their tails, when they bend them down as they used to do, a little concave forward.

Different from all these are the land crabs of the Caribbee islands; which live in a kind of orderly society, within their retreats in the mountains; and regularly once a year march down to the a side in a body of some millions. They choose the months

of April and May to begin their expedition; and then sally out from the stumps of hollow trees, from the clefts of rocks, and from the holes which they dig for themselves under the surface of the earth. At that time the whole ground is covered with this band of adventurers. The sea is their place of destination, and to that they direct their march. No geometrician could send them to their destined station, by a shorter course. They never turn to the right or left, whatever obstacles intervene. And even if they meet with a house, they will attempt to scale the walls, to keep the unbroken tenor of their way. But upon some occasions they are compelled to conform to the face of the country; and if it be intersected by rivers, they wind along the course of the stream. They are commonly divided into three battalions; of which the first consists of the strongest and boldest males, that like pioneers, march forward to clear the route, and face the greatest dangers. These are often obliged to halt for want of rain, and wait till the weather changes. The main body of the army is composed of females, which never leave the mountains till the rain is set in, and then descend in regular battalia, in columns of fifty paces broad, and three miles deep, and so close, that they almost cover the ground. Three or four days after this, the rear guard follows; a straggling undisciplined tribe, consisting of males and females, but neither so robust nor so numerous as the former. The night is their chief time of proceeding; but if it rains by day, they do not fail to profit by the occasion; and they continue to move forward in their slow, uniform manner. When the sun shines hot, they make an universal halt, and wait till the cool of the evening. When they are terrified they march back in a disorderly manner, holding up their nippers with which they sometimes tear off a piece of the flesh of an assailant and leave the weapon where they ipflict the wound. They often clatter their nippers together, as if it were to threaten those that come to disturb them. But though they thus strive to be formidable to man, they are much more so to each other; for if any of them by accident is maimed in such a manner as to be incapable of proceeding, the rest fall upon and devour it on the spot, and then pursue their journey.

When after a fatiguing march, perhaps of three months, they arrive at their destined port, they prepare to cast their spawn. The peas are as yet within their bodies, and not as is usual in animals of this kind, under the tail. And the creature waits for the benefit of the sea water, to help the delivery. For this purpose the crab has no sooner reached the shore, than it eagerly goes to the edge of the water, and lets the waves wash over its body two or three times. Then they withdraw to seek a lodging, upon land in the mean time the spawn grows larger, is exu

:

ded out of the body, and sticks to the barbs under the tail.— In this state of pregnancy they once more seek the shore, and shaking off their spawn into the water, leave it there. At this time whole shoals of hungry fish are in expectation of this annual supply. The sea, to a great distance, is black with them; and about two thirds of the crab's eggs are immediately devoured. The eggs that escape are hatched under the sand; and soon after, millions at a time of these little crabs are seen quitting the shore, and slowly travelling up to the mountains.

The old ones, however, are not so active to return; they are become so feeble, that they can hardly creep along. Most of them, therefore, are obliged to continue in the flat parts of the country till they recover, making holes in the earth, which they cover at the mouth with leaves and dirt. There they throw off their old shells. At that time they are quite naked, and almost without motion for six days. They have then under their stomachs four large white stones, which gradually decrease in proportion as the shell hardens, and when they come to perfection, are not to be found. It is at that time the animal is seen slowly making its way back, and all this is commonly performed in six weeks.

An account of the Animal Flower in Barbadoes.

[Meth. Mag. Eng.]

In the parish of St. Lucy, on the north side of the island, there is a high rocky cliff fronting the sea, near the bottom of which is a large cave. This opens into another cave, the bottom of which is a basin of water. In the midst of this basin is a rock, always covered with water: on the sides of which, a few inches below the water, are seen, at all times of the year, issuing out of little holes, what have the appearance of finely radiated flowers; in size, colour and shape greatly resembling a common marygold.

If you attempt to pluck one of these, as soon as your fingers come within two or three inches of it, it contracts, closes up its border and shrinks back into the hole of the rock. But if left undisturbed for a few minutes, it issues again, and soon appears in full bloom. This might induce one to believe, that it was no other than an aquatic sensitive plant.

But on a nearer inspection we may discern four dark colored filaments, rising from the centre, moving with a quick and spon taneous motion, and frequently closing, to selze its prey, much

like the claws of a lobster. So that the seeming flower is really an animal; and its body, which appeared to be the stalk of the flower, is black, about as big as a raven's bill.

It seems the vivid yellow colour of its feelers, is absolutely necessary to procure its food. The water in the cave, having no motion, cannot bring any food to them. Therefore the Creator has endued this creature with a quality which may allure its prey. For bright colours invite many aquatic animals, as the flame of a candle does flies.

A remarkable Echo.

[Eng. Mag.]

THERE is an echo on the bank of the river Nassa, between Bingen and Collentz, in Germany, which repeats what is said seventeen times. And what is still more peculiar, the person who speaks is scarce heard at all, but the repetition, clearly and with surprising variety: the echo seeming sometimes to approach nearer, and sometimes to be farther off. One person hears only one voice, another several: one hears it on the right, another on the left.

Two miles from Milan there is a still more surprising echo. It returns the sound of a pistol fifty-six times. The first repetitions follow one another very quick; but they are more distinct in proportion as they decay. There are two parallel walls, which beat the sound back upon each other.

Remarkable Account.

[Eng. Mag.]

A nobleman, in Germany, was condemned to die, and ordered for execution in the morning. During the night, in ten or twelve hours time, all his hair turned white as flax. The emperor being informed of this, said, "he has suffered enough;" and pardoned him.

Since that time, there has been an instance of one of our own countrymen, who being ship-wrecked, saved himself on a small rock, surrounded by the sea. A boat took him off after he had stayed there four hours. But in that space his hair was turned quite white