ABOUT LOBSTERS 161 



education is to observe concrete facts. Unless you do this 

 you have no material out of which to manufacture know- 

 ledge. Compare the facts you have observed; and you will 

 find yourself thinking out conclusions. These conclusions 

 are real knowledge, and they are your own." 



Education includes testing the truth of many accepted 

 practices, and weeding out " old wives tales." Some lobster- 

 men insist on using dyed-green nylon twine for their pot 

 heads. Others insist that only brown or white are effective. 

 Do you believe there is any difference? There may be, but 

 no scientific tests have been published to prove the point. 

 Or are these beliefs just " sotness "? 



On the other hand, there are many beliefs of lobstermen 

 which are true and which have been proven over years of 

 use, but it is surprising the number of practices that are ef- 

 fective but to which the lobstermen attribute the wrong 

 reasons. 



A new oak trap won't fish until it has been soaked for a 

 week "in sea water to make it " water-logged." Of course, 

 it will soak up water in a week, but it is more likely that it 

 is the acid leaching out of the oak which makes it fishable. 



To be sure, the brash young beginner has to learn that 

 there are " know-hows " of the old-timers which can't be 

 overlooked. For example, the young engineer fresh out of 

 college has learned to accurately measure the heat of a 

 flame with a pyrometer (a heat thermometer). Then he 

 sees the village blacksmith haul a white-hot piece of iron 

 out of his fire, hold it up to squint at it, and declare, " That's 

 just about hot enough." The young engineer is aghast at 

 such slipshod methods of judging heat. 



But as he grows older and more experienced he is sur- 

 prised to learn how accurate is the blacksmith's judgment. 

 Years of experience with glowing iron have given him a 

 knowledge beyond the understanding of the untaught. An 

 old-time lobsterman has learned similar valuable ways of 

 judging. 



There are several college graduates who are lobstermen, 



