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 inflicted 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 exuded 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 quitfing 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.

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 bason of water. In the midst of this bason 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 spontaneous motion, and frequently closing, to seize 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 Cre ator 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.

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.

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.

Perhaps a still stranger instance of this kind is related in th duke of Sully's memoirs. "Henry IV. told the marquis De la Force, that the moment he was informed Henry the III. had published an edict (in July, 1535,) ordering all the Hugonots either to go to mass, or to abandon the kingdom in six months, his mustaches turned suddenly white on that side of his face which he supported with his hand.

Its life is a peculiar kind, and approaches to the nature of vegetation. Hairs grow much as plants grow out of the earth, er as some plants grow upon others: from which they draw their nourishment, and yet each has its life distinct from the other. So hair derives its food from some juices in the body; but not from the nutricious juices. Accordingly the hair may live and grow, while the body is starved to death.

That hair may grow, merely as an excrescence of the vegetable kind, appears from that memorable case recited by Mr. Hook, of a body which having been buried forty-three years, was found in a manner wholly converted into hair. The woman was buried in a coffin of wood, and lay the lowest of three in the same grave. The others being removed, and this coffin appearing, it was observed that much hair came through the clefts of it; on removing the lid, the whole appeared a very surprising sight. There was the whole figure of the corpse, exhibiting the eyes, mouth, ears, and every part. But from the crown of the head, even to the sole of the foot, it was covered over with a very thick set hair; long, and much curled. The people, amazed at this appearance, went to touch the corpse; but the shape fell away, as it was handled, leaving only a quantity of shapeless hair; but neither flesh nor bones, only a small part of the great toe of the right foot.

THE WORKS OF GOD DISPLAYED.

Singular accounts of Iron found in the Earth.

IRON is one of the imperfect metals, but the hardest and most useful, as well as the most plentiful of them all. It is of a livid, whitish colour, inclining to grey, and to appearance, internally composed of small facets, or small surfaces: susceptible of a fine polish, and capable of having its hardness more increased or diminished by certain chemical processes, than any other metal.

It is very generally diffused throughout the globe, being frequently found mixed with sand, clay, chalk, and being likewise the colouring matter of a great number of stones and earth. It is found also in the ashes of vegetables, and in the blood of animals, in such abundance, that some authors have attributed both the colour of vegetable and the vital fluid itself, to the iron contained in them. In consequence of this abundance, the iron ores are extremely numerous.

Native iron, formerly thought not to have an existence any where, is now certainly known to have been met with in seyeral places. It is, however, by no means common, but occurs sometimes in iron mines. Margraaf found a fibrous kind of it at Eibenstock, in Saxony: and Dr. Pallas found a mass in Siberia, weighing 1600 pounds. Mr. Adanson likewise informs us, that native iron is common about Senegal; but some naturalists are of opinion, that those species which have been taken for native iron, are, in reality, artificial and have been accidentally buried in the earth. The large piece mentioned by Dr. Pallas is of that species called red short, which is malleable wheh cold, but brittle when red hot. A mass of a similar nature is said to have been lately found in South America.

This American mass of iron was discovered by some Indians in the district of Santiago del Estero, in the midst of a wide extended plain. It projected about a foot above the ground, and almost the whole of its upper surface was visible; and the news of its being found in a country where there are no mountains, nor even the smallest stone, within a circumference of 100 leagues, could not but be very surprising. Though the journey was attended with great danger, on account of the want of water, and abundance of wild beasts in these deserts, some private persons, in hopes of gain, undertook to visit this mass; and, having accomplished their journey, sent a specimen of the metal to Lima and Madrid: where it was found to be very