58 REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



During the summer of 1908 a few observations were made on some 

 zoeae taken at the lobster hatchery at Wickford. On the morning 

 of August 2 the water around the float was "alive with young crabs." 

 One could find any number of them between the timbers wherever 

 the sunlight fell on the water. Some of these were put in bottles 

 with a cotton screen over the top, and the bottles lowered into the 

 water. These all died in two or three days. Others were put in 

 bottles with the bottoms broken off and a screen over both ends. 

 These lived through several moults, and were only removed when 

 they had reached the young crab stage. Still others were put in a 

 lobster car lined with a canvas bag, and the water admitted through 

 filters. Twenty of these specimens, when measured, September 21, 

 gave an average length of 8 mm., and an average width of 9 mm. 



Each day for eight successive days a number of these zoese were 

 killed and preserved (corrosive sublimate, Zenker's fluid, and forma- 

 lin were used. Specimens killed in corrosive and preserved in alcohol 

 were the most satisfactory). In using this method exclusively an 

 error was made, as many important factors, as pigment and behavior 

 were overlooked. The specimens were also somewhat contorted. 

 These details are noted, that, in further work by others, similar errors 

 may be avoided. 



Later, when these forms were studied they proved to be the late 

 zoeal and megalops forms of Neoj^anope texana sayi. The iden- 

 tification was based on the young crabs raised from these larvae. 

 This form has been described by Birge, 1883, and a summary of his 

 paper is given later. 



Economic Value. 



The crab fisheries of the United States now hold an important place 

 in the fish industry along the coast. This is especially true in the 

 Chesapeake Bay region (The Crab Industry of Maryland, by W. A. 

 Roberts, Report of Bureau of Fisheries, 1904, gives statistics, meth- 

 ods of catching, packing, shipping, and canning), which furnishes a 

 large per cent, of the crabs caught along the Atlantic coast. Long 



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