ON INSECTS AND MARINE ANIMALS. 107 



dorsal or back covering, until the eyes are quite 

 clear of the body shell, and appear above its 

 margin. The prawn, thus half released, then 

 makes a sudden backward spring or jerk, and 

 the whole of the skin is left behind, generally 

 adhering by the shell of its six feet to the sub- 

 stance it had selected for its purpose. 



Now, one moment's thought will show you 

 what a truly wonderful process this act of 

 getting rid of its old covering really is. When 

 we reflect on the small size of this creature, and 

 the extreme delicacy of its various organs, and 

 then find that this moulting of the shell, with its 

 minute spines and microscopic hairs, is per- 

 formed in the manner you have heard, it is im- 

 possible not to admire the wonderful power of 

 an Almighty Creator who has called into exist- 

 ence so marvellous a creature. 



When the prawn has been thus liberated from 

 its old covering, it is at first perfectly helpless, 

 and so soft that it has not the power of sup- 

 porting its own weight. By degrees it gains 

 strength, and then retires to some secure place 

 till its different membranes have become suffi- 

 ciently hardened to allow of its venturing forth 

 among its companions without danger. 



