The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-01
MIR. LoBsTER's NEW SUIT.
Vivid Account of How He Discarded
the One lie Had Outgrovn.

From the F.reside.
1t has not happened TO everyone to see a
lobster cast his shell. Last summer 1 had
an opportunity Of watching The process. L
was staying for several weeks in Sc
cluded little village on the south coast. and
one day, when the only fisherman in the
place returned after taking up his pots
he flung upon the beach a specimen too
small for sale or home consumption. The
prize was taken possession of by a boy,
who presented it to my imprOvised acqua-
rum, for which all the little boys OF the
village were enthusiastic collectors.
kept the water welf aerated, and devoted
great deal of time and attention to my
various live stock ana at last my reward
came. AT the time of his capture my lob"
ster had already begun to think about get
ting a new suit; and as the days went by,
the Old shell became so small for him that
he could no longer avoid discarding his
ever-tghtening armor.
One morning, therefore, 1 found my lob
ster apparently in his last agOnies He
lay on his back and rubbed his legs con-
Vulsively together as if in intense pain; and
then he wTiggied about, or jerlIed himself
violently upwards by means of his tail. /
suppose that these actions had for their
object the ioosening of the claws and limbs
in their sheaths The rapid movements
somewhat disturbed the sand and clouded
the water; but, as the patient lay close
to the glass, 1 never entirely lost sight of
him. Nevertheless, / do not quite know
how it an occurred. The throes continued
for an hour or more, and efforts were APP
parently made to burst the shell open from
within; but Ii was not until / saw that
the lobster had actually Invested himself Of
his headcovering that / understood what
my guest was about A great deal more
wriggling and struggling followed, The lob
ster gradually squeezing himself, as it
We're, out of the shoulders of his suit Of
armor.
The operation looked as if it were ex-
tremely painful and exhausting; but at
last L had the satisfaction OF seeing my
lobster and his discarded shell lying side
by side. The latter looked much the small
er of the two; and save that it was mo-
tionless, it might have been mistaken for
a live and healthy crustacean in full
dress. The oritice through which the an
Gent tenant had evicted himself was very
small, and the headpiece had not been
completely thrown off, but was left hang
ing. as by a hinge. But now the naked
lobster did not look at all like his old
self His colors were so bright as to sug-
gest that he had been parbolled and he
had the tender appearance of human flesh
from which the skin has just been re-
moved.
1 took out the shell, and found that my
guest had got rid not only of the major
part of his eyes. but also of the lining of
his stomach, including his internal teeth
and some of the bones Of his thorax; yet
he seemed to be little the worse for his
thorough turnout. on my return from
luncheon 1 touched him, aud found that,
although quite soft, he was covered with
an incpient shell of the approximate SOL
idity of oiled tissue paper. He did not like
being touched. During the three follow
ing days the shrimps worried him a good
deal, but he grew with marvellous randi
ty until he was fully half as big again
as he had been, and when l once more
touched him the shell on his big claws
was sufficiently hard TO enable him to give
me a nip.
l have omitted to mention one curious
circumstance connected with this particu-
lar animals toilet. When the lobster was
given to me he was without his left big
claw, which had 1 suppose, been acct
dentally wrenched off by his original cap
tor. The stump very quickly healed up.
a hard, calcareous seal encrusting the end
of the joint. To my establishment when
the lobster worked himself out of his old
shell, he appeared with a rudlmentary
left claw, which had evidently formed be-
hind the shield. This claw grew even
more rapidly than the rest of his body:
and by the time the new shell was hard.
the new claw, though still dispropor-
Tomato, was of very serviceable dimen-
SiOns