294 REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



i. e. the effect of regeneration upon the length of the molting period. 

 But there remains an equally important aspect of the problem, 

 namely, the relation in the opposite direction, consisting in the 

 influence of molting upon the process of regeneration. 



Some data on the amount and rate of regeneration were taken in 

 the course of the preceding experiments, but they are not sufficient 

 to justify positive conclusions. It is intended to conduct another 

 series of experiments on this subject, and by measuring the lengths 

 of the regenerated limbs and the time in which they regenerated, 

 under conditions varying in regard to the time of mutilation, degree 

 of injury, the amount of food, etc., secure data for a more complete 

 investigation of the factors influencing the process of regeneration 

 in the lobster. 



As a preliminary, however, to such a further study, some of the 

 present data furnish suggestive results bearing on one aspect of the 

 subject; namely, the response of the regenerative process to mutila- 

 tion, as influenced by the molting process. 



On first thought it would be most natural to expect that, whenever 

 a limb is removed from the lobster, the process of regenerating it 

 would immediately begin; and it might also be supposed that the 

 regenerative process would respond with equal readiness to mutila- 

 tions made either early or late in the molting period. But that this 

 is not the case is shown b}^ some of the results obtained in the course 

 of the preceding experiments. 



In the experiments with C4 to C^g, for example, it was attempted 

 to introduce the regenerative process at different times in the molting 

 period, but it was found very difficult to do so in the latter part of 

 the period, because the removed limbs would not always regenerate. 

 The extent of this difficulty may be readily seen by an examination 

 of the graphical representation of the results for series C4 to C^g, 

 as shown in Chart IX. It will be recalled that the heavy dis- 

 continuous lines and the dotted lines represent the regenerating and 

 the non-regenerating specimens, respectively; and that the lengths 

 of these lines are proportionate to the number of lobsters in each 



