A LAND HERMIT CRAB, _Coenobita rugosa_. (REDUCED)] The Gecarcinidæ are abundant in the tropics of the Old and New Worlds. Some of the species at least, probably all, visit the sea at intervals for the purpose of hatching off the eggs carried by the females, and the larval stages are passed in the sea. In the case of _Gecarcinus ruricola_ (Plate XXVI.), a species very common in the West Indies, the migration to the sea takes place annually during the rainy season in May. The Crabs are described as coming down from the hills in vast multitudes, clambering over any obstacles in their way, and even invading houses, in their march towards the sea. Stebbing states that "The noise of their march is compared to the rattling of the armour of a regiment of cuirassiers." The females enter the sea to wash off the eggs which they carry attached to their abdominal appendages, or rather, probably, to allow the young to hatch out. The Crabs then return whence they came, and are followed later by the young, which, having passed through their larval stages in the sea, leave the water, and are found in thousands clinging to the rocks on the shore. On Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, Dr. C. W. Andrews studied the habits of another Land Crab, of which the proper name seems to be _Gecarcoidea lalandii_. He says: "This is the commonest of the Land Crabs inhabiting the island, and is found in great numbers everywhere, even on the higher hills and the more central portion of the plateau. In many places the soil is honeycombed by its burrows, into which it rapidly retreats when alarmed. These Crabs seem to feed mainly on dead leaves, which they carry in one claw held high over the back and drag down into the burrows. From their enormous numbers, they must play a great part in the destruction of decaying vegetable matter and its incorporation into the soil." "Once a year, during the rainy season, they descend to the sea to deposit [or, rather, to hatch out] their eggs, and during this migration hundreds may be seen on every path down steep slopes, and many descend the cliff-face itself. They remain on the beach for a week or two, and ... afterwards gradually make their way back to their accustomed homes."