THE LOBSTER KIND. 331 



nourishment, until they have acquired a defensive 

 shell, when they begin to issue from their fortresess, 

 and creep along the bottom in pursuit of prey, and are 

 busily employed in scratching up the sand, in hopes of 

 finding worms, or some of the insect tribe. Whilst 

 these little animals are enjoying a life of abundance, 

 an unexpected evil soon occurs; for their bodies in- 

 crease in consequence of their sustenance, whilst the 

 shell remains in its original size ; and the poor creature, 

 pent up in the walls of its prison, must doubtless en- 

 dure an exquisite degree of pain. 



It is generally believed that all animals of this spe- 

 cies change their shells every year, though some are 

 of opinion that the young ones shoot them twice in 

 the course of that period of time. The molting season 

 is about the beginning of summer, when their vigour 

 is at the highest, and their food most easily obtained ; 

 they then make a point of seeking the most retired si- 

 tuations, where they niay avoid being attacked by any 

 of their foes. For some days before the creature 

 shoots its shell, it lies torpid and motionless, as if in 

 anxious expectation of the approaching change ; and 

 just before it takes place, it throws itself upon its 

 back, strikes its claws against each other, and every 

 limb appears to shake. Its feelers are agitated ; its 

 body increases; and, at the juncture of the belly, the 

 shell begins to divide : the stomach likewise comes 

 away with the shell, and it then shakes off each claw 

 as a man would his boots ; and thus the animal finds 

 itself at liberty, though in an enfeebled and exhausted 

 state; and, indeed, the operation is so violent and 

 painful that many expire under the change. ,-„ 



Immediately after this wonderful transition, they seem 

 even to dread the approach of the insect tribe ; and, 



