782 CRUSTACEA— LOBSTER. 



the animal moves with its claws foremost; and that the part which plava 

 within itself by joints, like a coat of armor, is the tail. The mouth, like 

 that of insects, opens the long way of the body, not crosswise, as with man, 

 and the higher race of animals. It is furnished with two teeth in the 

 mouth, for the comminution of its food; but as these are not sufficient, it 

 has three more in the stomach; one on each side, and the other below. 

 Between the two teeth there is a fleshy substance, in the shape of a tongue. 

 The intestines consist of one long bowel, which reaches from the mouth to 

 the vent; but what this animal differs in from all others is, that the spinal 

 marrow is in the breast bone. It is furnished with t.vo long feelers or horns, 

 that issue on each side of the head, that seem to correct the dimness of the 

 sight, and apprize the animal of its danger, or of its prey. The tail, or that 

 jointed instrument at the other end, is the grand instrument of motion; 

 and with this it can raise itself in the water. Under this, we usually see 

 lodged the spawn in great abundance; every pea adhering to the next by a 

 very fine filament, which is scarcely perceivable. Every lobster is an her- 

 maphrodite, and is supposed to be self-impregnated. The ovary, or place 

 where the spawn is first produced, is backwards, towards the tail, where a 

 red substance is always found, and which is nothing but a cluster of peas, 

 that are yet too small for exclusion. From this receptacle there go two 



canals, that open on each side at the jointures of the shell, at the belly; and 

 through these passages the peas descend to be excluded, and placed under 

 the tail, where the animal preserves them from danger for some time, until 

 they come to maturity. They are then dropped in the sand, where they are 

 soon hatched. Between twelve and thirteen thousand eggs have been count- 

 ed in one lobster. 



When the young lobsters are produced, they immediately seek for refuge 

 in the smallest clefts of rocks, and in such like crevices at the bottom of the 

 sea, where the entrance is but small, and the opening can be easily defend- 

 ed. There, without seeming to take any food, they grow larger in a few 

 weeks' time, from the mere accidental substances which the water Avashes 

 to their retreats. By this time, also, they acquire a hard, firm shell, which 

 furnishes them with both offensive and defensive armor. They then begin 

 to issue from their fortresses, and boldly creep along the bottom, in hopes of 



