THE AUTHOR'S EXPERIENCE. 113 



history. The facts connected with the process are 

 few, and far from well authenticated. This state 

 of things appears the more extraordinary, when we 

 remember the great facility with which specimens of 

 Crustacea may be found. 



For years past I have paid much attention to 

 the elucidation of this subject, and during that period 

 have had to submit to numberless mishaps and 

 disappointments, For example, perhaps after watch- 

 ing a f pet' day after day for months, anxiously 

 expecting that exuviation would take place, in nine 

 cases out of ten, ay, in ninety-nine out of the 

 hundred,* I would find that the process had been 

 completed when I was asleep, or that the animal 

 had died suddenly. In the latter case new specimens 

 had to be procured, and the same watching process 

 repeated, in most cases with the like unhappy results. 



I will now, however, endeavour as briefly as pos- 

 sible to make the reader acquainted with what has 

 already been written upon exuviation, as far as I 

 have been able to learn, up to the present time, 

 interspersing the narrative with such notes as may 

 seem necessary by way of illustration, and then pro- 

 ceed, in the words of Shakspeare, to lay down my 

 own c penny of observation/ 



The first clear and satisfactory remarks on this 

 subject were made by the celebrated Reaumur, who 

 lived above a century ago: ' The unexampled accuracy 



and truthfulness of this great naturalist is attested/ 



8 



