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lobster does not breed annually. This is abundantly proved by the 

 slow growth of the ovarian eggs , by the immature condition of the 

 ovaries at the time when the young are hatched, and by the large per- 

 centage of non egg-bearing female lobsters taken in the winter and 

 spring.« — »Soon after hatching a brood the lobster may molt, but 

 eggs are not laid again until at least another year.« This is equivalent 

 to saying that it is not possible for the lobster to produce eggs oftener 

 than once in two years. That it requires this time for the ovarian eggs 

 to reach their normal size is an inference which Avas drawn from the 

 anatomy of the organs. Over 100 dissections were made in the summer 

 of 1890 (June 28 — August 19) to determine this and other points. No 

 one so far as I know has ever kept a female lobster during the entire 

 period from one egg-laying to another. 



In reference to the second point , the period of egg-laying , very 

 explicit statements had been made both by Bumpus and myself. The 

 following extracts are taken from my earlier paper already referred to. 

 »The spawning season is confined to the summer months 3, and the 

 eggs which are then laid, are carried by the female through the fall, 

 winter and spring, and are not hatched under natural conditions until 

 the following summer.« »The period during which eggs were laid this 

 year (1890) began about July 1st, and extended until about August 20th,« 

 »In 1889 the spawning was somewhat earlier.« 



The third point- that the eggs which are laid in the summer do 

 not hatch until the summer following (May — July), was also clearly 

 stated by both Bumpus and myself. In addition to the statement made 

 above, the following extracts from my paper published in May, 1891, 



illustrate it still further »The eggs laid in summer develop 



with comparative rapidity and eye-pigment is formed in 27 — 30 days. 

 Development slows up in the fall, and comes nearly though never 

 quite to a standstill in winter.« »The hatching period at Woods' Holl 

 (determined for the seasons 1889, 1890) extends over a period of six 

 to eight weeks, from about May 15th, to July 15th.« 



The rate of embryonic development at Woods' Holl was tabulated, 

 and various other facts bearing upon the life history of the lobster 

 were given in this paper. 



In view of the foregoing facts the first ]mrt of the paragraph with 

 which Mr. Garman closes his paper is rather surprising: »I am plea- 

 sed to see that Mr. F. H. Herrick in the Zoologischer Anzeiger, 

 No. 454. Aug. 13. 1894. p. 29, confirms my observations on times, 



3 I have since shown that this statement is inexact, and that a considerable 

 number of lobsters extrude eggs at other times of the year. (See Zool. Anz. No. 454. 

 Aug, 13th. 1894. p. 29, and the close of this article.) 



