148 REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



the shells and choppmg them finely with a meat chopper. The whole 

 clam is usually employed, not even discarding the tough snout, as 

 the lobsters seem to pounce upon pieces of this almost as quickly as 

 on the softer parts. In past years it has been the custom to sift the 

 grindings through wire netting, and only use the very finest, such as 

 would give a milky look to the water; but the past season all the 

 grindings were used. In some instances the fry were seen to pass by 

 the smaller particles and seize a larger fragment. Of course the par- 

 ticles must not be too large, otherwise they are not kept properly 

 suspended by the current. In regard to the time of feeding, it was 

 the practice last year to feed every three hours throughout the 

 twenty-four. This seems to have been quite satisfactory. The 

 practice of keeping the fry continually supplied with food should be 

 considered of more importance than regular feeding periods. 



9. Length of Time Required to Reach the Fourth Stage. 



The length of time required to reach the fourth stage from the time 

 of hatching varies at Wickford from 10 to 21 days. The temperature 

 of the water is, in a great measure, responsible for this variation, but 

 careful records kept during 1905 seem to show that, while it is the 

 most important, it is not the only factor. It will be necessary to 

 experiment further in order to fully establish the importance of the 

 various factors, yet it may be said that the following certainly do 

 exert considerable influence on the duration of the first three stages. 

 In the order of apparent importance they are: temperature, food, 

 current, density, and light. The effects of temperature, food and 

 current have already been described. Of the influence of the density 

 of the water little is known-; after a warm rain, however, molting 

 seems to progress more rapidly. The importance of the light fac- 

 tor is as yet undetermined. 



10. Liberation of the Lobsterlings. 

 As fast as the fry reach the fourth stage they are dipped out in- 



