TRANSPORTATION OF LOBSTERS TO CALIFORNIA. 261 



temperature. I neglected to mention that upon the top of the tank 

 much ice had heen kept and stored ; in this way keeping the salt water 

 within the tank quite cold without freshening it and diluting it, which 

 would have been caused by ice put into the salt water to cool it. The 

 death of these sixty reduced the number of lobsters materially. 



About this time on, the trip slats were laid upon the two piles of 

 lobster-boxes, and about 500 pounds of ice kept on them, when the 

 lobsters were not being attended to. Lobsters will live well until 

 the fourth or fifth day, but in the present case, if at any time of 

 repacking them I did not find from one-third to one-half of the residue 

 dead each time, I considered it very fortunate. I went over them 

 twice a day; so that if, at every time of repacking, one-third to one-half 

 were to be thrown away, the number of live lobsters would be rapidly 

 reduced, as was indeed the case. Monday, June 8, there were only 

 20 left alive. Nor is there any regularity in their dying; those treated 

 the most carefully and faithfully die as readily as the neglected ; and 

 those handled much live as well as the undisturbed. After the fifth 

 day crowds of lobsters take offense at something, and revenge them- 

 selves by dying. The reason of their death was wrapt in mystery. 

 Numerous experiments always failed to bring any regular results, 

 and nothing certain could be gleaned from them. Theorizing about 

 lobsters' chances of life is vain when applied iu practice. There 

 seems to be a wide diversity in their constitutions, though unseen and 

 imperceptible. Certain lobsters live well and persistently, while others 

 destined to die beforehand do so irregularly and for an unassignable 

 cause. It is easy to decide whether a lobster is dead. If so, its muscles 

 are all relaxed, and when lifted up, its claws, instead of remaining hori- 

 zontally out from the body, hang down. This is especially true of the 

 large front claws, but not always of the small ones, which sometimes 

 hang down when the lobster is alive, or are straightened when dead ; 

 the front claws, however, are decisive. If, on the other hand, the crea- 

 ture is alive, it will sometimes move its long feelers when the sponge 

 is lifted, and move its claws, and often its body; but the constant as 

 well as sure criterion is that when a sponge full of salt water 

 is squeezed over its head, it will always answer it by blinking or draw- 

 ing in its eyes, if alive. When lifted it will struggle; but it is a 

 bad plan to raise them, unless necessary, though this is better than to 

 molest and agitate too much, without lifting them, when arranging the 

 sponges or ice about them. 



We were using a good deal of salt water, and Monday, the fifth day 

 from starting, it became evident that we had not enough on board for 

 the whole journey. We disliked to use the salt water from the tanks in 

 which fish were or had been ; and there was not much of that. There- 

 fore we opened the reserve cask of 149 gallons of unused salt water, 

 and telegraphed the same day to the commissioners of California to 



