34 ];eport of commissioners of inland fisheries. 



ished the count of lobsters reared to the fourth stage b}^ twenty or 

 thirty thousand at a low estimate. The young lobsters, however, 

 were not destroyed, and a large proportion of them had nearly reached 

 the fourth stage when they were thus unintentionally liberated. 

 The bags w^ere immediately taken up, washed and mended, and in a 

 few days were again in operation with a new lot of lobsters newly 

 hatched. The old method of holding the bottom of the bags down, 

 with strips of furring on the underside, was resorted to and the ut- 

 most vigilance was thenceforth exercised. 



The result of the season's work in rearing lobsters to the fourth 

 stage was far better than ever before, and the output w^as many 

 times greater than that of any other station as far as we are aw^are. 

 During the next four weeks about 50,000 young lobsters in the fourth 

 stage were counted out. 



In ascertaining the number of lobsters reared to this stage the 

 methods of estimating are not trusted, but the lobsters are counted 

 one by one as they are dipped out of the water with a tea strainer 

 fastened to the end of a stick. 



The total number thus counted was 50,597. The largest number 

 reported from any other station is 3,750, reared by an apparatus on 

 the same principle at Wood's Holl in 1902. It is obvious, of course, 

 that the output of "lobsterlings" might depend upon the number of 

 newly hatched fry available and on the extent of the apparatus. 

 Taking these things into consideration the comparison is still more 

 favorable to our station, for in most, if not all, other stations the sup- 

 ply of fry has been greater and the per cent, of lobsters living through 

 the three moults smaller.* 



The exact proportions of newly hatched young reared to the fourth 

 stage can be ascertained accurately only by counting the number at 

 the beginning and at the end of the experiment. The time required 

 for counting is so considerable that only in three cases were the fry 

 counted at the beginning of the experiments. 



*All fry used at Wickford were taken from Rhode Island lobsters, and were hatched in the 

 bags at the house boat. 



