782 CRUSTACEA—LOBSTER. 
the animal moves with its claws foremost; and that the part which plays 
within itself by joints, like a coat of armor, is the tail. The month, like 
that of insects, opens the long way of the body, not crosswise, as with man, 
and the higher race of animals. It is furnished with two teeth in the 
mouth, for the comminution of its food; but as these are not sufficient, it 
has three more in the stomach; one on each side, and the other below. 
Between the two teeth there is a fleshy substance, in the shape of a tongue. 
The intestines consist of one long bowel, which reaches from the mouth to 
the vent; but what this animal differs in from all others is, that the spinal 
marrow is in the breast bone. It is furnished with two long feelers or horns, 
that issue on each side of the head, that seem to correct the dimness of the 
sight, and apprize the animal of its danger, or of its prey. The tail, or that 
jointed instrument at the other end, is the grand instrument of motion; 
and with this it can raise itself in the water. Under this, we usually see 
lodged the spawn in great abundance; every pea adhering to the next by a 
very fine filament, which is scarcely perceivable. Every lobster is an her- 
maphrodite, and is supposed to be self-impregnated. The ovary, or place 
where the spawn is first produced, is backwards, towards the tail, where a 
red substance is always found, and which is nothing but a cluster of peas, 
that are yet too small for exclusion. From this receptacle there go two 
canals, that open on each side at the jointures of the shell, at the belly; ana 
through these passages the peas descend to be excluded, and placed, under 
the tail, where the animal preserves them from danger for some time, until © 
they come to maturity. They are then dropped in the sand, where they are 
soon hatched, Between twelve and thirteen thousand eggs have been count- 
ed in one lobster. 
When the young lobsters are produced, they immediately seek for refuge 
in the smallest clefts of rocks, and in such like crevices at the bottom of the 
sea, where the entrance is but small, and the opening can be easily defenc- 
ed. There, without seeming to take any food, they grow larger in a few 
weeks’ time, from the mere accidental substances which the water washes 
to their retreats. By this time, also, they acquire a hard, firm shell, which 
furnishes them with both offensive and defensive armor. They then begin 
to issue from their fortresses, and boldly creep along the bottom, in hopes of 
