﻿150 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  say 
  that 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  in 
  a 
  thousand 
  reaches 
  maturity. 
  If 
  the 
  

   fry 
  are 
  retained 
  in 
  artificial 
  inclosiires 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  natural 
  enemies 
  

   are 
  eliminated, 
  but 
  new 
  agents 
  of 
  destruction 
  arise. 
  

  

  Many 
  years 
  ago 
  the 
  cannibalistic 
  tendencies 
  of 
  confined 
  larvje 
  were 
  

   noted, 
  and 
  were 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  especially 
  strong 
  during 
  the 
  molting 
  

   periods. 
  The 
  young 
  possess 
  an 
  almost 
  insatiable 
  appetite, 
  and 
  devour 
  

   all 
  weaker 
  brethren 
  within 
  reach. 
  From 
  the 
  exhaustion 
  incident 
  to 
  

   molting, 
  they 
  settle 
  to 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  inclosure, 
  collecting 
  in 
  masses 
  

   at 
  the 
  lowest 
  points, 
  and 
  the 
  mortality 
  from 
  cannibalism 
  and 
  suffoca- 
  

   tion 
  is 
  astonishing. 
  This 
  loss 
  is 
  also 
  materially 
  increased 
  by 
  the 
  attack 
  

   of 
  a 
  vegetal)le 
  growth 
  (diatomaceous) 
  which 
  infests 
  even 
  the 
  most 
  vig- 
  

   orous 
  and 
  healthy 
  fry. 
  They 
  are 
  so 
  thickly 
  coated 
  with 
  these 
  diatoms 
  

   as 
  to 
  look 
  like 
  balls 
  of 
  chenille; 
  they 
  become 
  logy 
  and 
  inactive, 
  refuse 
  

   food, 
  and 
  eventuallj^ 
  settle 
  to 
  the 
  bottom 
  and 
  die. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  evident, 
  then, 
  that 
  the 
  mere 
  hatching 
  and 
  distributing 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  

   number 
  of 
  fry 
  can 
  have 
  little 
  if 
  any 
  effect 
  toward 
  reestablishing 
  the 
  

   waning 
  lobster 
  industrv- 
  If, 
  however, 
  it 
  were 
  possible 
  to 
  carry 
  the 
  

   young 
  lobsters 
  through 
  the 
  critical 
  larval 
  periods 
  to 
  the 
  stage 
  when 
  

   they 
  assume 
  the 
  habits 
  of 
  the 
  adult, 
  and 
  thus 
  are 
  able 
  to 
  protect 
  them- 
  

   selves, 
  there 
  is 
  reason 
  to 
  believe 
  that 
  a 
  much 
  larger 
  percentage 
  would 
  

   reach 
  maturity. 
  It 
  was, 
  then, 
  to 
  the 
  difficult 
  problem 
  of 
  rearing 
  the 
  

   fry 
  through 
  three 
  molts 
  to 
  the 
  lobsterling 
  stage 
  that 
  the 
  special 
  com- 
  

   mission 
  lir.>t 
  turned 
  its 
  attention. 
  In 
  181)8 
  Doctor 
  Bumpus 
  began 
  a 
  

   series 
  of 
  experiments 
  which 
  covered 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  two 
  years, 
  and 
  con- 
  

   siderable 
  preliminary 
  work 
  had 
  been 
  done 
  when 
  the 
  special 
  commission 
  

   took 
  up 
  the 
  problem. 
  The 
  difficulties 
  referred 
  to 
  above 
  were 
  thor- 
  

   oughly 
  understood. 
  It 
  should 
  be 
  remembered, 
  also, 
  that 
  the 
  hatching- 
  

   season 
  covers 
  at 
  most 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  only 
  eight 
  weeks, 
  and 
  frequently 
  

   three 
  weeks' 
  time 
  or 
  more 
  is 
  necessary 
  to 
  test 
  the 
  practicability 
  of 
  any 
  

   experiments. 
  Two 
  failures 
  mean 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  a 
  season. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  experiments 
  of 
  1898 
  and 
  1899 
  a 
  variet}"^ 
  of 
  inclosures 
  was 
  

   tried 
  — 
  cars 
  of 
  wood 
  and 
  cars 
  of 
  wire 
  netting, 
  some 
  with 
  gravel 
  bot- 
  

   tom 
  and 
  some 
  containing 
  sand, 
  glass 
  aquaria 
  and 
  aquaria 
  of 
  stone, 
  

   balanced 
  aquaria 
  and 
  aquaria 
  with 
  automatic 
  plungers, 
  deep 
  and 
  shal- 
  

   low 
  dishes 
  of 
  earthenware 
  and 
  glass, 
  cars 
  made 
  of 
  scrim 
  cloth 
  and 
  

   deeply 
  submerged, 
  others 
  of 
  scrim 
  and 
  floating, 
  and 
  natural 
  pools, 
  

   both 
  large 
  and 
  small, 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  tide 
  rose 
  and 
  fell. 
  These 
  various 
  

   receptacles 
  were 
  located 
  in 
  many 
  places 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Woods 
  

   Hole; 
  some 
  were 
  placed 
  in 
  the 
  hatchery 
  and 
  fed 
  by 
  water 
  from 
  the 
  

   pumps, 
  others 
  were 
  placed 
  in 
  the 
  ''pools" 
  and 
  waters 
  adjacent 
  to 
  the 
  

   station, 
  some 
  in 
  Eel 
  Pond, 
  some 
  near 
  Ram 
  Island, 
  and 
  some 
  even 
  

   at 
  Hadley 
  Harbor, 
  where 
  there 
  could 
  be 
  no 
  question 
  of 
  the 
  purity 
  of 
  

   the 
  water. 
  Neither 
  the 
  nature 
  nor 
  location 
  of 
  the 
  receptacle, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  nor 
  the 
  kind 
  of 
  food, 
  changed 
  the 
  course 
  and 
  outcome 
  of 
  the 
  

   experiments. 
  The 
  fry 
  seemed 
  to 
  thrive 
  until 
  about 
  the 
  time 
  for 
  the 
  

  

  