Morgulis. — Fasting on Lobsters 199 



at the beginning of the experiment was 167.5 grams and 

 at the end 162.7 grams, or a difference of about one-sixth 

 of an ounce. 



This very slight change in weight is, however, decep- 

 tive, and behind an apparently immutable surface, as an 

 investigation of the changes in the makeup of the lob- 

 sters reveals, far-reaching transformations are effected. 

 To anticipate, a study of the chemical composition of the 

 fasting lobsters proves that the exceptional position oc- 

 cupied by these animals in not conforming to the general 

 rule of emaciation, is only skin deep and that the loss 

 of substance which they suffer is as profound and fully 

 as extensive as that sustained by any other organism. 



It is a matter of common knowledge that every organ- 

 ism is composed of three kinds of material, water, or- 

 ganic and mineral matter. With respect to quantity, 

 water is by far the most important of these three constit- 

 uents. A normal lobster (including the shell) contains 

 67.3 per cent, of water. The remaining 32.7 per cent., 

 or one third, is made up of 21 per cent, organic material 

 and 11.7 per cent, mineral matter. It may therefore be 

 said that, roughly, seven-tenths of the lobster is water, 

 two-tenths is organic stuff, and one-tenth is a mixture 

 of salts. 



After fasting fifty-six days the composition of the lob- 

 sters changes radically. They now contain 78.2 per cent. 

 of water, 10.8 per cent, of organic and 10.6 per cent, 

 of mineral matter. Roughly speaking therefore, eight- 

 tenths of the lobster is water and the organic and min- 

 eral portions represent each a tenth of the entire or- 

 ganism. A comparison of these figures shows at a 

 glance that the content of fasting lobsters is greatly 

 impoverished as regards its organic moiety, which in- 

 volves all the edible and really nutritious elements, i. e., 

 the glycogen, fat and proteins. 



The difference in the relative composition (percentage) 

 of the two kinds of lobsters is not sufficient, however, 

 to fully picture the transformation effected by the fast, 

 or to explain why the weight remains almost unmodified. 



