LOBSTER CULTURE AT WICKFORD, R. L IN 1906. 



BY EARNEST W. BARNES, 

 SUPERINTENDENT OF THE WICKFORD EXPERIMENT STATION. 



The first egg lobsters were placed in the hatching crates on the 

 morning of the 30th of May, and on the 11th of August, after a con- 

 tinuous run of 73 days, the season closed. The weather was excep- 

 tionally free from winds and storms, but the season's work suffered 

 as a result of a period of fog and rain in the early part of June. The 

 low temperature, the absence of sunshine, and the freshness of the 

 water were unfavorable to the best results. Nevertheless, during 

 the season 190,000 fourth-stage lobsters were counted out as against 

 103,000 in the preceding year, and in addition 25,000 were reared 

 to the fifth stage. These lobsterlings were liberated in various 

 places on the shores in Narragansett Bay. 



Some of the more important features of the season's work in lobster 

 rearing is as follows: 



Rearing to the Fifth Stage.— As has been pointed out in previous 

 reports, many unfavorable natural conditions are overcome by 

 rearing the recently hatched lobster larva3 through the first 10 to 16 

 days of life, which form a critical period due chiefly to excessive 

 cannabilism and very feeble swimming powers. In the fourth stage, 

 which is then reached, the lobsterlings are far better able to care for 

 themselves; for, while they are very vigorous swimmers, they are 

 inclined to seek the bottom and to secrete themselves between pebbles 

 and under shells and stones. The swimming habit, early in this 

 stage, is, however, strong. This is a very unfavorable circumstance, 

 inasmuch as the lobster's greatest safety is in hiding. In the two 



