258 LOBSTERS GHANOE THEIR COLOR. 



Ireland abound with fine lobsters, and welled vessels bring 

 from them supplies for the London market of ten thousand 

 Aveekly. A large number of lobsters is brought from Norway, 

 as many as thirty thousand arriving from that country in a 

 single day, conveyed in wells on board steam vessels, and 

 kept in wooden reservoirs, some of which may be seen on 

 the Essex side of the Thames. In order that the great mass 

 of lobsters may be kept on their best behavior in these 

 reservoirs, the great claw is rendered paralytic by means of 

 a wooden peg driven into a lower joint : however cruel this 

 may seem, it prevents them from tearing each other to 

 pieces, so pugnacious are the animals. A good-sized lobster, 

 we are informed, will yield about twenty thousand eggs; 

 and these are hatched (being so nearly ripe before they are 

 abandoned by the mother) with great rapidity, it is said in 

 forty-eight hours, and grow quickly, although the young lob- 

 ster passes through many changes before it is fit to be pre- 

 sented at table. During the early period of growth it casts 

 its shell frequently. This wonderful provision for an increase 

 of size in the lobster is perfectly surprising. It is indeed 

 astonishing to see the complete covering of the animal cast 

 off like a suit of old clothes, when it hides, naked and soft. 

 in a convenient hole, awaiting the growth of its new crust 

 or coat. Lobsters and crabs change their shell about every 

 six weeks during the first year of their age ; every two 

 months during the second year ; and afterward the changing 

 of the shell becomes less frequent, being reduced to four times 

 a year. Previously to putting off their old shell, they appear 

 sick, languid, and restless. They acquire an entirely new 

 covering in a few days; but during the time they remain 

 defenseless they seek some lonely place, lest they should be 

 attacked and devoured by such of their brethren as are not 

 in the same weak condition. In casting their shells, it is 

 difficult to conceive how the lobsters are able to draw the 

 flesh of their large claws out, leaving the shells of these 



