114 KEAMUR AND GOLDSMITH. 



says one writer, ( by the fact, that of all the observa- 

 tions made by himself alone, far exceeding those of 

 any other writer of past or present times, and occupy- 

 ing in their published form numerous large quarto 

 volumes, scarcely one has been contravened by sub- 

 sequent credible observers, whilst they have formed 

 the substance of half the numerous compilations on 

 insect life, acknowledged or otherwise, which have 

 appeared since his time.* 



Goldsmith, who derived his knowledge of this sub- 

 ject from Reamur, tells us, in his usual free and easy 

 style, that crustaceous animals (as crabs and lobsters) 

 ' regularly once a year, and about the beginning of 

 May, cast their old shell, and nature supplies them with 

 a new one. Some days before this necessary change 

 takes place, the animal ceases to take its usual food. 

 It then swells itself in an unusual manner, and by this 

 the shell begins to divide at its junctures between the 

 body and the tail. After this, by the same opera- 

 tion, it disengages itself of every part one after the 

 other, each part of the joints bursting longitudinally, 

 till the animal is at perfect liberty. This operation, 

 however, is so violent and painful that many die 

 under it; those which survive are feeble, and their 

 naked muscles soft to the touch, being covered with 

 a thin membrane ; but in less than two days this 

 membrane hardens in a surprising manner, and a 

 new shell as impenetrable as the former supplies the 

 place of that laid aside/ 



