FOREWORD 



There have been many articles written about the 

 American lobster, but two such works stand out as being 

 particularly authoritative and comprehensive. One is a sec- 

 tion of the book The Fisheries and Fishing Industries of the 

 United States, compiled by George Brown Goode, Assistant 

 Director of the United States National Museum. It was 

 published in 1884 by the U. S. Commission of Fisheries. 



The second book, The Natural History of the American 

 Lobster, by Dr. Francis Hobart Herrick, was published in 

 1895 as a bulletin of the U. S. Commission of Fisheries. 



Both of these books are excellent in their detail and ac- 

 curacy, but even Dr. Herrick's book is more than sixty-five 

 years old. They deal largely with the biology and anatomy 

 of lobsters, and are scholarly works in scientific language. 



But in sixty-five years the increasing demand for lob- 

 sters has resulted in renewed researching of lobster habits, 

 and some improvements in the methods of catching. This 

 work intends to supplement, and bring up to date, Dr. Her- 

 rick's fine book. It is written for the use of those interested 

 in the lobster industry, and is shorn of scientific language. 



Notice how often it has been necessary to use the words 

 " probably " or " it is believed." This indefiniteness is neces- 

 sary because our knowledge of lobsters is far from complete. 



