98 THE SEA-SIDE AND AQUARIUM. 



after much struggling, and, to complete the process, the 

 tail is ultimately, l>y long-continued efforts, extricated 

 from its calcareous covering, and the entire coat of 

 mail, which previously defended the body, is discarded 

 and left on the sand. 



"The phenomena which attend this renovation of 

 the external skeleton are so unimaginable, that it is 

 really extraordinary how little is accurately known 

 concerning the nature of the operation. The first 

 question which presents itself is, How are the limbs 

 liberated from their confinement 1 for, wonderful as it 

 may appear, the joints even of the massive chelae of 

 the Lobster do not separate from each other ; but, not- 

 withstanding the great size of some of the segments of 

 the claw, and the slender dimensions of the joints that 

 connect the different pieces, the cast-off skeleton of the 

 limb presents exactly the same appearance as if still 

 encased in the living member. 



" The only way of explaining the circumstance is 

 to suppose that the individual pieces of the skeleton, 

 as well as the soft articulations connecting them, split 

 in a longitudinal direction, and that, after the abstrac- 

 tion of the limb, the fissured parts close again with so 

 much accuracy, that even the traces of the division 

 are imperceptible. But this is not the only part of 

 the process which is calculated to excite our astonish- 

 ment. The internal calcareous septa, from which the 

 muscles derive their origin, and the tendons whereby 

 they are inserted in the moveable portions of the outer 

 shell, are likewise stated to be found attached to the 



