94 REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



overcrowded the capacity of the plant and results were not as good 

 as might have been obtained from the large number of egg lobsters 

 received. Two hundred ninety-four thousand eight hundred ninety- 

 six lobsters were reared to the fourth stage, as opposed to 189,894 of 

 the preceding year. These lobsterlings w^ere liberated in various 

 places along the shores of Narragansett Bay, as is shown in table at 

 the close of this article. 



Constructive work, as well as lack of space, prevented an extensive 

 attempt at rearing to the fifth stage. However, a number of fourth's 

 were kept in the new rearing boxes till quite far along in the fifth 

 stage, and some had reached the sixth stage. In all, 4,900 were 

 reared to these stages. 



Some important additions and improvements which were made 

 this season are as follows: 



New Rearing Floats. — -Two additional floats, the same size as the 

 two already on hand, were built. These were placed one on each 

 side of the original floats and connected to them as rigidly as possible 

 by bolting them together in several places with heavy beams which 

 passed from one to the other. In this way the power could be trans- 

 mitted by ordinary shaft and gear connections, wdthout need of 

 universal joints and sliding sleeves. These floats were not full}' 

 equipped till the season was drawing to a close. Nevertheless, one 

 was filled with bags, and the gearing on both was run long enough to 

 test the general scheme. This addition increases the size of the 

 plant from 12 pools to 24 pools, and is also of value in showing the 

 possibility of greatly increasing the size of the plant by adding extra 

 floats and shafting. As the floataare now connected there is a drive 

 of over 350 feet of shafting, not including the short pieces that run 

 down to the paddles. One-inch shafting is used throughout, except 

 in the short drive-shaft on the houseboat, where it is 1 3-16 inches. 

 The slow speed and the limberness of the one-inch shaft prevent any 

 harm from the constant bending of the long floats. 



A New Engine. — The importance of an uninterrupted current in 

 the bags can not be too strongly emphasized, as has been stated 



