XIV.-TRANSPORTATION OF LOBSTERS TO CALIFORNIA. 



The following is the report of M. L. Perrin, employed by Mr. Livingston Stone, for 

 the California Fish Commission, in the transportation of live lobsters upon the Cali- 

 fornia aquarium car, June, 1874. — [S. F. Baird.] 



The lobsters were procured from Messrs. Johnson & Young's lobster- 

 house, Charlestown-street bridge, Boston, and pains were taken by 

 these gentlemen to give all the aid in their power toward the undertak- 

 ing. Upon a special car from Boston to Charlestown, 1ST. H., June 3, 

 were packed the 150 lobsters in seven pine boxes 3 J feet long, 15 inches 

 wide, and 15 inches deep. The boxes were divided iuto two compart-* 

 ments, an upper and a lower, by a partition, making two tiers, and 11 

 lobsters were placed in each tier, save one. On this trip to Charlestown 

 they were not packed with straw beneath them, but lay upon the wood, 

 with sponges over and around them. We were sorry at the time for 

 this mistake, but from experiments afterward I decided that they were 

 as well situated as if laid upon straw. Six casks of ocean-water, each 

 containing 149 gallons, were obtained that morning and loaded upon 

 the car. Most of the sea-water was put into the two salt-water tanks 

 in the aquarium-car. These tanks were made of hard wood and 

 smeared with a mixture of resin and tallow in order to be water-tight, 

 and during part of the overland journey salt-water fish were in these 

 tanks. One cask of sea-water was loaded, unopened, upon the aqua- 

 rium-car to be used for the lobsters during the last days of the trip, 

 that from the tanks being used for awhile. The sea-water was ob- 

 tained outside Boston Harbor, beyond the " Graves," in order that it 

 might be purer. That which had been got two days previously for the 

 same purpose was procured from Nahant, but the aquarium-car not 

 starting that day made it necessary to get some more so as to have it 

 fresh. We procured 35 pounds of sponges, most of which were used in 

 the beginning before many lobsters had died, but afterward were not 

 needed. The sponges were soaked with salt water, aud each lobster 

 was completely hidden by the wet sponges. Salt water was poured 

 upon all the lobsters, and all the sponges newly wetted once during the 

 trip to Cbarlestown. The lobsters were all alive when reaching Charles- 

 town. 



At Charlestown, Thursday morning, June 4, the lobsters were taken 

 from the boxes in which they had been brought from Boston and re- 

 packed in boxes without covers, divided by partitions into twelve apart- 

 ments. The surface-extent of these apartments was just enough to ad- 



