686 HISTORY AMD METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



weather tbe ice is dispensed with. In taking the lobsters from the cars for packing in barrels, 

 they are dipped up with large scoop-nets, rapidly examined to ascertain if they have enough life 

 to stand the journey, and are above the legal limit in size, 10J inches, and then with a quick move- 

 ment tossed into the basket or back into the car, as the case may warrant. 



The barreled lobsters are shipped from Eastport to Boston by steamer, the length of the trip 

 being from twenty-four to thirty hours, but if properly packed they will live at least forty-eight 

 hours in this way. As soon as they reach Boston they are transferred to cars or boiled. The 

 regular steamers from Eastport leave there during the summer about noon of every other day, 

 and it is customary to pack the lobsters iu the morning of each steamer day, in order that they 

 may start in good condition. But few are shipped at the end of the week. 



Other stations along the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and 

 Connecticut, having railroad or steamboat facilities, have taken advantage of this new and rapid 

 method of transportation. 



SHIPPINGS FRESH LOBSTERS TO ETJROPE. In 1877, Messrs. John Marstou & Sons, of Portland, 

 Me., made a successful shipment of fresh lobsters to Liverpool, England, in the Allan Line steamer 

 Sardinia. Notwithstanding the great demand in Europe for American canned lobsters, it is not 

 probable that an extensive trade in fresh lobsters will ever arise, owing to the great trouble and 

 expense of shipping them, though the Messrs. Marston think that in time many will be sent in 

 that way. The above consignment was cared for in the following manner: The lobsters, two 

 hundred and fifty in number, were placed on the main deck in a large tank, 20 feet long by 8 feet 

 wide and 3 feet deep, and constantly supplied with fresh sea- water through six faucets by means 

 of a donkey engine, a waste pipe preventing any overflow. Fifty died during the trip and the 

 balance were sold at from 60 to 75 cents per pound. 



THE PRICES. 



CANNING LOBSTERS. The prices paid for lobsters at the canneries in Maine were, in 1880, 

 nearly uniform for the entire coast, having been about $1 per hundredweight. At Eastport they 

 ranged from 80 cents to 90 cents per hundredweight when taken directly from the fishermen's 

 cars, or $1 delivered at the canneries. Since 1880, however, prices have increased considerably at 

 Eastport, consequeut upon the increased competition in the fresh lobster trade. The prices for 

 1882 were $1.30 at the traps, and $1.50 delivered at the canneries. 



MARKET LOBSTERS. The "smack" or market lobsters, which are those above 10 inches in 

 length, and which, iu 1880, were estimated to average nearly 2 pounds each in weight for the 

 entire Maine coast, bring to the fishermen much higher prices, varying with the season aud abund- 

 ance, from 3 to 5 cents each by count. Prices are higher iu the spring than in the summer. At 

 Saint George's Island, Maine, the prices ranged, in 1880, from 4 to 5 cents each by count, from 

 the beginning of the season to the middle of April, and after that time fell off to 3 cents. At 

 Portland, the average prices were 4 to 5 cents each for large lobsters, and only 1 cent each for all 

 under 10 inches long. At Eastport, the dealers .received about 3 cents per pound for lobsters 

 shipped to Boston in barrels. 



On the New Hampshire coast, the larger lobsters brought from 4 to 7 cents each, and the 

 smaller three-fourths of a cent to 2 cents each, the average price being about 5 cents. 



On the southern coast of New England, the smacks generally pay the fishermen about 6 cents 

 each for all lobsters above 10J inches in length, the season usually continuing from May to 

 October. In the vicinity of Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, the wholesale prices were 3 cents per 

 pound, the retail G cents, but the smacks are charged 6 cents each by count. At New Bedford, 



