264 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



cheap, this fish is often used. The fish used as bait 

 are placed in the center of the trap and are either 

 threaded on a copper wire and suspended from the 

 roof or fastened upon a peg or spear fixed upright. 



Although the lobster cannot see far through the 

 water, he is guided to his food by his strong power of 

 scent. Traps placed in currents where the odors com- 

 ing from the bait are widely diffused usually catch 

 many more lobsters than those set in quiet water, 

 other conditions being equal. The crustaceans are 

 often sly and wary, and walk around the trap many 

 times before yielding to the temptation it presents. 



Once taken, lobsters must be handled with care or 

 they will seize a finger or two in their scissor-like 

 claws ; and, as one can easily imagine, shaking hands 

 with a lobster is not likely to be a pleasant experience. 

 The lobsters of marketable size are placed in the 

 well of the fishermen's boat, while smaller ones taken 

 from the traps are tossed back into the sea. When 

 the fisherman returns to port, the lobsters are either 

 sold to wholesalers or placed in a live-car or pound 

 to be kept until the market improves. The live-cars 

 in which lobsters are kept are large rectangular 

 slatted boxes constructed of heavy lumber. These 

 cars are moored close to shore in quiet waters where 

 there is little danger of their being wrecked in heavy 

 seas. Dealers handling large quantities of lobsters 

 sometimes fence in areas of quiet water, thus making 

 a pound where large numbers of these crustaceans 

 may be kept h>r long periods. 



Lobsters are usually packed with ice in barrels 

 before shipping. They are covered first with sea- 



