﻿LOBSTER 
  AND 
  CLAM 
  INVESTIGATIONS. 
  151 
  

  

  first 
  molt; 
  then 
  there 
  wti.s 
  a 
  heavy 
  mortality, 
  which 
  occurred 
  again 
  at 
  

   the 
  second 
  and 
  third 
  molts. 
  Rarely 
  could 
  more 
  than 
  half 
  a 
  dozen 
  

   lobsterlings 
  be 
  ol)tained, 
  whether 
  the 
  original 
  number 
  of 
  fry 
  was 
  a 
  

   score 
  or 
  a 
  thousand. 
  

  

  Toward 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  1899 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  receptacle 
  devised 
  which 
  

   promised 
  more 
  satisfactory 
  results 
  than 
  all 
  the 
  others. 
  This 
  was 
  a 
  

   rectangular 
  bag 
  8 
  feet 
  long, 
  4 
  feet 
  wide, 
  and 
  1 
  feet 
  deep, 
  made 
  of 
  

   cotton 
  scrim. 
  The 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  bag 
  was 
  attached 
  to 
  a 
  wooden 
  frame 
  

   floating 
  on 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  water, 
  while 
  the 
  bottom 
  was 
  kept 
  sub- 
  

   merged 
  l)v 
  means 
  of 
  sinkers. 
  Since 
  the 
  bag 
  was 
  merely 
  suspended 
  in 
  

   the 
  frame, 
  and 
  its 
  sides 
  were 
  not 
  rigid, 
  the 
  fluctuations 
  in 
  the 
  currents, 
  

   due 
  to 
  tide 
  or 
  wind, 
  kept 
  the 
  sides 
  waving 
  continuously 
  back 
  and 
  forth 
  

   with 
  a 
  kind 
  of 
  undulating 
  motion. 
  This 
  motion 
  of 
  the 
  bag 
  created 
  

   circulation 
  and 
  prevented 
  the 
  fry 
  from 
  sinking 
  to 
  the 
  bottom. 
  With 
  

   only 
  three 
  of 
  these 
  bags 
  about 
  100 
  lobsterlings 
  were 
  reared 
  in 
  1899. 
  

  

  THE 
  FIRST 
  SEASON'S 
  WORK 
  (igoo). 
  

  

  It 
  had 
  frequentl}' 
  been 
  suggested, 
  and 
  the 
  repeated 
  failures 
  in 
  pre- 
  

   vious 
  years 
  seemed 
  to 
  indicate, 
  that 
  the 
  environmental 
  conditions 
  at 
  

   Woods 
  Hole 
  were 
  not 
  at 
  all 
  favorable 
  for 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  young 
  

   lo})sters. 
  To 
  test 
  the 
  correctness 
  of 
  this 
  view 
  and 
  to 
  discover 
  if 
  pos- 
  

   sible 
  a 
  locality 
  better 
  suited 
  to 
  the 
  needs 
  of 
  the 
  fry, 
  it 
  was 
  decided 
  to 
  

   try 
  experiments 
  with 
  the 
  same 
  apparatus 
  at 
  various 
  other 
  localities 
  

   on 
  the 
  New 
  England 
  coast 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  Woods 
  Hole. 
  The 
  places 
  selected 
  

   were 
  Orrs 
  Island, 
  on 
  the 
  Maine 
  coast; 
  Annisquam 
  River, 
  near 
  Glouces- 
  

   ter, 
  Mass. 
  , 
  and 
  Wickf 
  ord, 
  R. 
  I. 
  , 
  on 
  Narragansett 
  Ba3\ 
  

  

  EXPERIMENTS 
  AT 
  WOODS 
  HOLE. 
  

  

  Since 
  the 
  floating 
  scrim 
  bag 
  had 
  proved 
  the 
  most 
  practical 
  inclosure 
  

   and 
  promised 
  interesting 
  results, 
  the 
  special 
  commission 
  decided 
  to 
  

   adopt 
  it 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  investigations 
  in 
  1900, 
  and 
  early 
  in 
  May 
  prepara- 
  

   tion 
  for 
  the 
  work 
  was 
  begun 
  at 
  the 
  Woods 
  Hole 
  station. 
  Several 
  

   large 
  floats 
  or 
  rafts 
  were 
  constructed 
  of 
  heavy 
  planking 
  and 
  buoyed 
  

   with 
  casks. 
  Each 
  float 
  was 
  about 
  16 
  by 
  12 
  feet, 
  and 
  was 
  capable 
  of 
  

   holding 
  6 
  bags 
  of 
  the 
  standard 
  size 
  (8 
  b}^ 
  4 
  by 
  4 
  feet). 
  Later 
  larger 
  

   bags 
  were 
  tried, 
  some 
  8 
  by 
  6 
  b}^ 
  4 
  feet 
  and 
  others 
  16 
  by 
  12 
  by 
  4 
  feet, 
  

   but 
  on 
  the 
  whole 
  the 
  small 
  bags 
  gave 
  the 
  most 
  satisfaction. 
  All 
  the 
  

   bags 
  were 
  made 
  of 
  the 
  coarsely 
  woven 
  cotton 
  scrim 
  above 
  mentioned. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  experiment 
  was 
  started 
  May 
  23. 
  when 
  950 
  3^oung 
  (the 
  first 
  

   of 
  the 
  season) 
  were 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  hatchery 
  and 
  placed 
  in 
  the 
  bag 
  

   moored 
  in 
  the 
  inner 
  basin 
  at 
  the 
  station. 
  These 
  were 
  fed 
  twice 
  a 
  day 
  

   for 
  five 
  da3^s 
  with 
  surface 
  to 
  wings, 
  which 
  consisted 
  mostly 
  of 
  cope- 
  

   pods." 
  This 
  did 
  not 
  prove 
  a 
  practical 
  food, 
  however, 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  often 
  

  

  "It 
  was 
  believed 
  from 
  the 
  work 
  in 
  1899 
  tliat 
  the 
  plankton 
  was 
  the 
  natural 
  food 
  of 
  the 
  young 
  lobster, 
  

   and 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  the 
  solution 
  of 
  the 
  food 
  (luestion. 
  

  

  