78 COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



took place between July 8 and July 21, taking 13 days to reach the 

 fourth stage. Our own best previous result was 50 per cent, from a 

 lot of 1,000, some of which were at least two days old. 



A MECHANICAL FEEDER. 



It has been demonstrated that regular feeding is of very great 

 practical importance and cannot be emphasized too strongly. Fur- 

 thermore, it is very desirable that the food should be given in small 

 quantities and often. Since these two items are of such importance, 

 it is very readily seen that a mechanical feeder would be very ser- 

 viceable. The attempt has been made to devise such a feeder, and 

 this past year a practical method was finally hit upon. It consists of 

 an ordinary flour sieve suspended in the water, and so arranged that 

 it will be slightly turned at each revolution of the paddle. The food, 

 finely minced, is put into the sieve, and the occasional slight turn 

 which is given the handle scrapes a little of the food each time through 

 the sieve into the water, where the action of the current quickly 

 spreads it about. 



IMPROVED METHODS OF LIBERATING. 



It is not enough to successfully rear the lobsters to the bottom 

 stages. An equally important matter is to get them established in 

 their homes in the ocean bottom. This problem we have been attack- 

 ing from two different points. 



1. The devising of more effective means than mere liberation. 



2. The effort to rear the fry to a still older stage and in reality 

 get them accustomed to living on the bottom of a car before libera- 

 ting them. 



Our efforts in regard to this latter case we have already spoken of. 

 As to the devising of new and more effectual means of liberating, it 

 may be remarked that our usual method has been to widely scatter 

 the lobstcrlings along the edge of the shore, selecting for this purpose 



