The nervous system begins in a large ganglion in front of the mouth, called the brain; from this two branches arise, which pass on each side of the digestive organs, meeting in ganglia in each segment and extending the whole length of the body. The gills, by which the animal breathes, are upon the limbs, or on the walls of the body immediately adjacent to them, and are generally inclosed in special chambers. In lobsters and crabs two such chambers are found under the flaps of the carapace, above the walking-legs. Gills are divided so as to present much surface to the water, from which they absorb oxygen. They are like a dense mass of little tubes arranged along a central tube. The class has two kinds of eyes, simple and compound; the latter are composed of a number of eyes. In some species the eyes are placed on the ends of movable stalks, which enable the creature to see in all directions and from a higher plane than the body occupies. As a rule, the eyes occur in the head region, but in the shrimp /Euphausia/ they are on the thorax and abdomen. In barnacles simple eyes exist in the young stage, but in adult forms there are no apparent visual organs. The ear (so called) consists of a sac containing small silicious particles suspended in fluid. Numerous fine hairs on the inner surface of the sac connect with nerve-fibrils. The organs of hearing are in various places. In decapods, or the larger /Crustacea/, they are at the base of the antennules. [pg248] The muscles are white bundles of fibers, and are in strips, which is an indication of power and activity. There are four important sets: twisted ventral muscles which bend the tail and are particularly large and strong, those which straighten the tail, those moving the appendages, and those which work the gastric mill. [Illustration: Zoëa of /Cancer irroratus/. Last stage before it changes to the megalops condition.] The eggs, after being discharged, are attached to the abdominal legs of the mother by a kind of cement, or they are carried in pouches attached to the thorax. In these positions they mature, and hatch at different stages of development in different species. Some emerge with three pairs of legs, and are known as /Nauplius/; some are /Zoëa/, having a carapace and abdominal segments, but no abdominal appendages. Another stage is /Megalops/, with large stalked eyes. Others are hatched as miniature adults. These names were given when the embryo stage was not recognized and the larvæ were thought to be distinct species. [Illustration: Megalops stage of /Cancer irroratus/, just after change from zoëa stage.]