52 Life and Love. 



of swimmerets, instead of being soft and flexible, are 

 hard and horny, and assist in conveying the sperm 

 to the egg-cells, so that the eggs are fertilized 

 before they leave the body of the female. Thus is 

 obviated the great waste of male reproductive 

 material, which is sustained by so many of the 

 fishes. 



After being fertilized, the eggs are laid, but 

 instead of dropping into the water they adhere 

 firmly to the swimmerets of the female, which are 

 somewhat broader than those of the male, and 

 during the breeding season covered with a sticky 

 substance which glues the eggs fast until they 

 hatch ; when the tiny lobsters, in turn, cling to the 

 protecting swimmerets of the mother until able to 

 care for themselves. 



Moreover, to protect these precious eggs and 

 helpless young from being scraped off as she 

 moves about, or snatched off by hungry and heart- 

 less creatures, the lobster doubles her body under, 

 as lobsters know so well how to do, and keeps 

 it doubled, thus forming a safe asylum for the 

 brood. 



Thus also in the lobster do we find sex modifi- 

 cations besides those of the reproductive tissues, 

 the male swimmerets being changed into horny 

 "claspers,"' to assist in the felicitous disposition of 

 the sperm-cells ; and the female swimmerets being 

 broad, leaf-like, and covered with a special secre- 

 tion used to attach the eggs. 



