REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 115 



It seems evident that there is an adaptation of the regenerative 

 process to the moulting period, as seen in the fact that the growth of 

 the regenerating structure may be materially hastened by the near- 

 ness of the approaching moult; and the interpretation seems to be 

 that this adaptation is made so as to permit, as far as possible, the 

 development of a junctional mechanism before the moult. Thus a 

 tentative answer is obtained for our original cpestion. 



In recapitulation, then, we may conclude from these observations 

 that the following relations exist between the processes of moulting 

 and regeneration: First, that a regenerating limb always moults as a 

 functional appendage; second, that there is a definite time limit 

 preceding a moult, within which a limb will not begin to regenerate; 

 and third, that both regenerating and moulting processes maintain 

 an adaptive relation to the regenerating limb, and thus furnish a 

 doubly favorable condition for the development of a functional limb 

 at the first moult. 



If these conclusions are correct the c|uestion arises whether the 

 moulting process or habit is not to be regarded as an important factor 

 influencing the power of regeneration among Crustacea — a question 

 of especial interest when it is considered that one of the present 

 features in the study of the phenomenon of regeneration in general 

 is the determination of the external and internal factors influencing 

 the process. The results from the present study of the relation be- 

 tween regeneration and the process of moulting, therefore, suggest 

 the importance of further study of this subject. 



SUMMARY. 



The results and conclusions from the present series of experiments 

 on regeneration in the lobster, Homarus americanus, may be summa- 

 rized as follows: 



I. Regeneration throughout the organism. 



The power to regenerate lost parts is remarkably extensive through- 

 out the external structure and appendages. The antennae, anten- 



