23 



rapidly inside. None of the eggs are lost on the passage 

 from the genital openings to the " pocket " unless the 

 lobster is disturbed. As the eggs leave the oviducts they 

 become coated with an adhesive substance which causes 

 them to stick together and to the swimmerets. The period 

 of oviposition in the lobster under obsei'vation was just 

 over four hours. Half an hour after the eggs had ceased 

 to flow the lobster righted itself and walked into a corner 

 of the tank, eventually getting into a nearly perpendicular 

 position, with the head downward. It renaained in this 

 position for the rest of the day. Next day it was walking 

 about the bottom of the tank in the usual way of a berried 

 lobster. That the adhesive power of the eggs was im- 

 parted to them before leaving the oviducts, was proved by 

 collecting some just as they emerged from the genital 

 openings. When these samples were placed in a glass 

 of sea water and collected into a heap, they all became 

 attached one to the other, and also to the glass. Moreover, 

 the adhesive material only remains soft for a short time, 

 as when the individual eggs were isolated and prevented 

 from adhering to the glass, it was found that at the end 

 of half an hour the adhesive property had completely 

 disappeared. The eggs when extruded are quite soft and 

 fall flat when removed from the water, the spherical state 

 is regained immediately the eggs are placed in the water 

 again. They are of an opaque dark green colour, with a 

 thin transparent shell. The eggs measured in water so 

 that the spherical condition was unaltered, were found to 

 be 1*8 millimetre in diameter. 



Another point now falls to be discussed, and that is, the 

 frequency of spaAvning and moulting in the lobster. The 

 lobster which came under observation at Piel was one of 

 a batch collected at Bardsey Island in July, 1902. It was 

 then bearing eggs which had been extruded sometime 



