CHAPTER V 

 LOBSTERS AND THEIR KIN 



PLATE XXVII 



THE LOBSTER 



u are not at a H Hkely to catch a lobster 

 for yourself, for these creatures live in deep 

 water, and are only to be taken by means of 

 proper lobster-pots. But I must not pass the 

 animal by without mentioning it at all, for at 

 any rate you will be quite sure to see it on 

 the slab of every fishmonger's shop. 



Of course you know that a lobster is not red 

 until it is boiled, but is nearly black all over. 

 And of course you know, too, that one of its 

 great claws is always a good deal larger and 

 stouter than the other. Sometimes people think 

 that the reason of this is that at some previous 

 time the animal had lost one of his claws through 

 some accident, and was growing a new one, and 

 that the new limb had not yet had time to reach 

 its full size. However, this is not the case, for 

 one claw of a lobster is always a good deal bigger 

 than the other ; and the real reason is that the 

 two claws are used for different purposes. The 

 larger claw is a weapon, with which the animal 



