118 ABOUT LOBSTERS 



is so, but we suspect it inferentially in that youth is 

 better able to stand the stress than age. 



This business was started in 1949 with a capital of 

 $730.00, and today (1959) the sales of its products 

 amount to about $500,000. 



Trucking. Truck shipment of lobsters is not new. Only 

 a few comments are of value. 



The use of refrigerated trucks can be dangerous if the 

 temperature of the truck body should become low enough 

 to freeze and, of course, kill the cargo. Specify that it does 

 not fall below 40° F. A cargo of lobsters packed in ice in an 

 ordinary truck arrives in better shape than a refrigerated 

 truck without ice. The melting ice provides moisture in the 

 air which aids in keeping the lungs of the lobsters moist. 



The shipping of lobsters in open crates in a refrigerated 

 truck is dangerous. The air flowing from the refrigerating 

 unit through the openings between the slats of the crates 

 dries out the lobsters and causes high mortality. It is essen- 

 tial to use barrels or boxes which are not open-sided. 



Shipments of a full load of lobsters (a small truck if 

 necessary), and on a nonstop run, arrive much better than 

 when the truck must stop frequently to pick up other cargo. 

 Runs under such conditions as far away as Memphis, Ten- 

 nessee, arrive with no loss in the cargo. 



Air express. Most of this section has been contributed 

 by Brooks-Sprague Corporation, of Massachusetts, who are 

 credited with being the pioneer in air shipment of lobsters 

 (about 1940): 



Our first container was a galvanized can with 

 cover, but these were not satisfactory, so we switched 

 to a corrugated box with a rubber liner which was re- 

 turnable. Some newcomers in the field tried to ship 

 with a cheaper package that was not leakproof . One of 

 these shipments leaked so badly that the liquid ran 

 through the plane and when it reached the cold air 

 froze controls and wiring on the plane. We don't know 

 just what the damages amounted to, but it was a very 



