REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 141 



As soon as the fry in a bag have reached the fourth stage and have 

 been removed, or sooner if its condition requires, the bag is taken up 

 and thoroughly cleaned. As we have seen, the bags in a short time 

 become more or less foul. Most of the fouling occurs at the bottom, 

 where the silt collects. This is the least dangerous to the lobster, as 

 the current keeps them from the bottom, but of course the fouling 

 tends to rot the canvas, and if the bags are left in the water with the 

 filth from hatching still in them, the bottoms will soon rot out. If 

 the sides of the bag become dirty, however, it is of the most serious 

 consequence to the fry, as will be described later. As yet it is im- 

 possible to prevent this entirely. Soaking the canvas in a solution 

 of Stockholm tar in gasohne preserves it and, in a measure, prevents 

 the fouling. This is an excellent preparation for the bottoms, 

 although it darkens the bag and interferes with observation. As 

 regards the sides, it is another matter. Here the whiteness is of a 

 decided advantage to the fry, for if white they tend to avoid it and 

 consequently the current is not so likely to throw them against the 

 sides and so infect them with the same growths that have fouled the 

 bag. 



Washing and drying the bags is the best expedient yet found for 

 preserving them and keeping them in good condition. As soon as 

 the bag commences 1:o be foul, so that the lobsters become endangered, 

 the fry should be removed and the bag taken up and washed. Usu- 

 ally, however, the bag will rear one set of larvae before becoming 

 foul. 



Plates XIX, XX, and XXI show the process of washing and drying. 

 A small float with a pool 12 feet square is used for the purpose. 

 When the lobsters have been dipped out of the bag which is to be 

 washed, this float is brought up alongside the rearing float; the dirty 

 bag is then unfastened and floated under the outside barrel alley and 

 up under the small float. The bag is fastened at the surface of the 

 water, and the sides are scrubbed within and without with stiff 

 brooms. The bag is then raised on an incline (Plate XIX), and the 

 dirt scrubbed loose and washed out by water thrown on the bag. 



