[Footnote 1:  Scolopendra pullipes.]

Millipeds.—­In the hot dry season, and in the northern portions of the island more especially, the eye is attracted along the edges of the sandy roads by fragments of the dislocated rings of a huge species of millipede,[1] lying in short, curved tubes, the cavity admitting the tip of the little finger.  When perfect the creature is two-thirds of a foot long, of a brilliant jet black, and with above a hundred yellow legs, which, when moving onward, present the appearance of a series of undulations from rear to front, bearing the animal gently forwards.  This julus is harmless, and may be handled with perfect impunity.  Its food consists chiefly of fruits and the roots and stems of succulent vegetables, its jaws not being framed for any more formidable purpose.  Another and a very pretty species,[2] quite as black, but with a bright crimson band down the back, and the legs similarly tinted, is common in the gardens about Colombo and throughout the western province.

[Footnote 1:  Julus ater, Temp.]

[Footnote 2:  Julus carnifex, Fab.]

CRUSTACEA.—­The seas around Ceylon abound with marine articulata; but a knowledge of the crustacea of the island is at present a desideratum; and with the exception of the few commoner species which frequent the shores, or are offered in the markets, we are literally without information, excepting the little that can be gleaned from already published systematic works.

In the bazaars several species of edible crabs are exposed for sale; and amongst the delicacies at the tables of Europeans, curries made from prawns and lobsters are the triumphs of the Ceylon cuisine.  Of these latter the fishermen sometimes exhibit specimens[1] of extraordinary dimensions, and of a beautiful purple hue, variegated with white.  Along the level shore north and south of Colombo, and in no less profusion elsewhere, the nimble little Calling Crabs[2] scamper over the moist sands, carrying aloft the enormous hand (sometimes larger than the rest of the body), which is their peculiar characteristic, and which, from its beckoning gesture, has suggested their popular name.  They hurry to conceal themselves in the deep retreats which they hollow out in the banks that border the sea.

[Footnote 1:  Palinurus ornatus, Fab.]

[Footnote 2:  Gelasimus tatragonon?  Edw.; G. annulipes?  Edw.; G.  Dussumieri?  Edw.]

[Illustration:  CALLING CRAB OF CEYLON.]

Sand Crabs.—­In the same localities, or a little farther inland, the ocypode[1] burrows in the dry soil, making deep excavations, bringing up literally armfuls of sand; which with a spring in the air, and employing its other limbs, it jerks far from its burrows, distributing it in radii to the distance of several feet.[2] So inconvenient are the operations of these industrious pests that men are kept regularly employed at Colombo in filling up the holes formed by them on the surface of the Galle face, which is the only equestrian promenade of the capital; but so infested by these active little creatures that accidents often occur by horses stumbling in their troublesome excavations.