60 REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



There is apparently no limitation to the localities where eggs 

 may be deposited. The very young- fry and females carrying eggs 

 ready to hatch are found from shallow water to very deep water. 

 In the latter part of June, 1902, Mr. Vinal N. Edwards, the veteran 

 collector and naturalist of the Woods Holl Fish Commission sta- 

 tion, found young fry swimming at the surface about 40 miles off 

 No Man's Land. There are many stories of doubtful authenticity 

 relating to the maternal care which female lobsters display for the 

 young, but they can hardly be reconciled with what is known of 

 the habits of the newly hatched fry. The latter are entirely free, 

 have no means of attachment, and are readily scattered by the 

 tides and waves. 



The Size Attained by Lobsters before They Begin to Spawn. — This 

 question is one of obvious importance in view of the almost uni- 

 versal short-lobster legislation. It would seem, from common 

 observation, and from the results obtained by Herrick from the 

 large number of measurements, that the majority of female lob- 

 sters begin to spawn when they are about 10^ inches in length. 

 They occasionally spawn at 8 inches, or even at a smaller size ; and, 

 on the other hand, they sometimes reach 12 inches without having 

 spawned. Whether they have ever spawned or not can be proved 

 with reasonable certainty by dissection. Herrick found that of 01 

 female lobsters from 9 to 13 inches in length, taken at random, 25 

 had never spawned, though 9 would have done so in a few weeks. 

 (Eleven of the 25 were 10^ inches or more in length.) 



These investigations should be extended, but at present the 

 facts seem to indicate that, if the Rhode Island law intends to 

 protect lobsters until they have had at least one chance to spawn, 

 it should be altered to conform with the HU-ineh law of Maine 

 ami Massachusetts. 



The Numerical Bn y oportion of .)/<//<• and 'Female Lobsters. — In 

 general the sexes seem to be about evenly divided, but in certain 

 localities ami ai certain seasons of the year one sex or the other 

 may predominate. For example, in May, 1891, of 1,318 lobsters 

 caught off No Man's Land, only si were males; while north of 



