﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  CIII 
  

  

  hardy 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  eggs, 
  which 
  appear 
  well 
  adapted 
  to 
  endure 
  the 
  

   hardships 
  of 
  a 
  long 
  winter, 
  favors 
  the 
  idea 
  of 
  a 
  long 
  period 
  of 
  develop- 
  

   ment. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  the 
  only 
  practical 
  attempts, 
  previous 
  to 
  those 
  of 
  

   the 
  Fish 
  Commission, 
  towards 
  the 
  artificial 
  propagation 
  of 
  lobsters 
  have 
  

   been 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  their 
  " 
  parking," 
  that 
  is, 
  their 
  protection 
  in 
  large 
  

   inclosed 
  natural 
  basins, 
  in 
  which 
  lobsters 
  that 
  have 
  been 
  injured, 
  soft- 
  

   shelled 
  individuals, 
  those 
  below 
  salable 
  size, 
  and 
  occasionally 
  females 
  

   with 
  spawn, 
  have 
  been 
  placed 
  and 
  reared 
  for 
  the 
  markets. 
  Two 
  such 
  

   parks 
  have 
  been 
  specially 
  called 
  to 
  our 
  attention 
  ; 
  one 
  on 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  

   Massachusetts,'established 
  in 
  1872 
  and 
  afterwards 
  abandoned 
  ; 
  the 
  other 
  

   on 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Maine, 
  established 
  about 
  1880, 
  which 
  is 
  believed 
  to 
  be 
  

   still 
  in 
  operation. 
  The 
  effect 
  of 
  such 
  establishments 
  upon 
  a 
  general 
  in- 
  

   crease 
  of 
  supplies 
  would 
  probably 
  never 
  be 
  very 
  great. 
  

  

  The 
  Wood's 
  Roll 
  Station. 
  — 
  The 
  partial 
  completion 
  last 
  August 
  of 
  the 
  

   new 
  laboratory 
  building 
  at 
  Wood's 
  Holl, 
  with 
  its 
  convenient 
  system 
  for 
  

   the 
  distribution 
  of 
  salt 
  water, 
  permitted 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  needed 
  

   experiments 
  in 
  the 
  artificial 
  hatching 
  of 
  lobsters. 
  Unfortunately 
  the 
  

   hatching 
  season 
  had 
  then 
  closed, 
  but 
  it 
  was 
  deemed 
  advisable 
  to 
  ascer- 
  

   tain 
  the 
  best 
  methods 
  of 
  handling 
  the 
  eggs 
  in 
  order 
  that 
  there 
  might 
  

   be 
  as 
  little 
  delay 
  as 
  possible 
  in 
  beginning 
  operations 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  

   1886. 
  The 
  problem 
  of 
  lobster 
  hatching 
  on 
  a 
  practical 
  scale 
  is 
  one 
  that 
  

   the 
  Fish 
  Commission 
  has 
  long 
  had 
  in 
  view, 
  but 
  all 
  of 
  its 
  marine 
  labora- 
  

   tories 
  heretofore 
  have 
  been 
  temporary 
  structures 
  with 
  insufficient 
  ac- 
  

   commodations 
  and 
  without 
  the 
  means 
  for 
  obtaining 
  continuous 
  supplies 
  

   of 
  water 
  in 
  suitable 
  quantities. 
  The 
  hatching 
  of 
  small 
  quantities 
  of 
  

   lobster 
  eggs, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  other 
  kind 
  of 
  crustaceans, 
  had 
  been 
  

   successfully 
  accomplished 
  by 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  Fish 
  Commission 
  interested 
  

   in 
  biological 
  studies, 
  and 
  the 
  possibility 
  of 
  doing 
  this 
  on 
  a 
  small 
  scale, 
  

   and 
  of 
  carrying 
  the. 
  young 
  through 
  at 
  least 
  the 
  first 
  few 
  stages 
  of 
  growth, 
  

   needed 
  no 
  further 
  proof; 
  but 
  the 
  question 
  now 
  is 
  as 
  to 
  doing 
  it 
  on 
  a 
  

   scale 
  great 
  enough 
  to 
  influence 
  practically 
  the 
  supply 
  of 
  lobsters 
  in 
  our 
  

   markets. 
  

  

  As 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  lobster 
  have 
  a 
  specific 
  gravity 
  that 
  is 
  considerably 
  

   greater 
  than 
  that 
  of 
  water, 
  the 
  apparatus 
  selected 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  experi- 
  

   ments 
  was 
  the 
  McDonald 
  automatic 
  hatching-jar, 
  and 
  a 
  trial 
  of 
  about 
  

   two 
  months 
  demonstrated 
  its 
  superiority 
  over 
  the 
  other 
  appliances 
  

   tested. 
  It 
  does 
  not 
  seem 
  practicable 
  to 
  keep 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  

   lobster 
  iu 
  each 
  jar, 
  as 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  different 
  individuals 
  vary 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  

   in 
  specific 
  gravity, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  impossible 
  to 
  regulate 
  the 
  flow 
  of 
  water 
  so 
  

   as 
  to 
  give 
  them 
  all 
  the 
  required 
  motion. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  fertilized 
  eggs 
  

   carried 
  by 
  a 
  lobster 
  during 
  the 
  spawning 
  season 
  has 
  been 
  ascertained 
  

   by 
  careful 
  computations 
  in 
  several 
  cases, 
  and 
  varies 
  from 
  12,000 
  to 
  

   24,000, 
  the 
  number 
  generally 
  being 
  between 
  15,000 
  and 
  18,000 
  ; 
  the 
  eggs 
  

   are 
  comparatively 
  large, 
  measuring 
  about 
  one-twelfth 
  of 
  an 
  inch 
  in 
  

   diameter. 
  

  

  