ABOUT LOBSTERS 117 



This should also be true of April. We of course have 

 brief peaks of volume at Christmas and particularly at 

 New Year's Eve. 



We handle shedding season by buying lobsters 

 with a good shell on them to the extent possible, in the 

 early part of the season from the areas where shedding 

 has not yet reached, and in the latter part of the season 

 from areas where shedding took place early. Lobsters 

 with inadequate shell are culled out and pounded for 

 shipment when their shell has been restored. 



We feed our pounded lobsters herring and redfish 

 racks [scrap]. When the water temperature lowers the 

 lobster's appetite to zero, we cease feeding. 



With our method of packing for cooking, wherein 

 the customer need never touch the lobsters until they 

 are ready to serve, we need to plug but one claw for pro- 

 tection of lobsters from their buddies. 



Dry ice is much too cold to use as a refrigerant for 

 lobsters. It freezes and kills them. Its staying power is 

 relatively short and not suitable for shipments of any 

 distance. When it evaporates, it releases about thirty 

 times its volume in the form of carbon dioxide gas 

 which kills the lobsters if the freezing does not. (Note: 

 the intense cold cracks polyethylene wrappers, if used. ) 



We do ship by air. We do so when rail service is 

 inadequate. Some of the places to which we have ship- 

 ped where this is the case are Antwerp, Paris, Zurich, 

 Caracas, Havana, Bermuda, Honolulu and Alaska. The 

 percentage is small, as can be adduced by populations 

 and income levels at such points. 



We have never had a lobster shed during shipment, 

 although we have had a few females that egged out. 

 Shedding is an athletic business that takes place at 

 fairly high temperatures in an unrestricted area. The 

 lobster hasn't room to shed in a container; the cold in- 

 hibits it. 



We don't know whether smaller lobsters stand 

 travelling better than larger ones. We suspect that this 



