710 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



both of these claws. On examination, it will be found that one 

 of them is furnished w T ith knobs, or blunt protuberances on the 

 two inner surfaces, while the other has sharper and more 

 serrated processes along these two surfaces. It is by no means 

 the rule that these claws hold always the same relative position. 

 If there was anything- accidental in nature, we should say that 

 it was by accident that one of these claws should be either on 

 the right or left. But as yet the naturalists have not studied 

 sufficiently to decide the cause which determines that either the 

 right or left claw should be the one furnished with knobs. 

 The use made by the animal of these two claws is different; the 

 one with the blunt projections he uses for holding on by to the 

 branches and twigs of submarine plants, or to the substances 

 upon which he feeds, while with the other he cuts and minces his 

 food most deftly, preparing it so that it can be taken in by the 

 mouth. When attacked and defending itself, or fighting with 

 each other, it uses either claw for biting, and the wound made 

 with that having the sharp, serrated, or saw-like projections upon 

 it, is the worst. 



Like the crab, the lobster sheds its shell yearly. While it is 

 undergoing this process, it appears sick, and mopes. Their new 

 covering they get in a few days after casting off the old 

 one. But while the shell is soft, they seek to conceal them- 

 selves in some lonely spot, to avoid being made an easy prey to 

 their numerous enemies, who are always ready to devour them, 

 and who may be one of their own companions, not in so 

 defenceless a state. When its claws become injured, the animal 

 casts off the wounded member, and another grows in its place, 

 though never as large as the original. This singular power of 

 reproducing a part shows that the lobster does not stand very 

 high in the classification of animal life. Another evidence of 

 its low position in the scale of animal life is its prolificness. The 

 female carries her eggs under her tail, which is broader than 

 that of the male, and buries them in the sand. It has been 



