THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY, 1894. 



91 



fore the eggs are laid, and deposits the fertil- 

 izing matter on the upper side of the body, 

 near the external openings of the oviducts, 

 where it adheres for a time as a whitish mass. 

 How the fertilizing elements, the spermatozoa, 

 come in contact with the eggs and enter them, 

 has not yet been observed. The development 

 of the embryo in eggs laid on August 7 or 8 

 was so rapid that on September 3 the eyes 

 were visible as thin crescent-shaped spots. As 

 the water grew colder the progress was re- 

 tarded, until the changes were very slight in- 

 deed. This condition was maintained 

 throughout the winter, and it was only when 

 the summer temperature was reached that 

 rapidity of advancement was again to be noted. 

 The young began to hatch on the 14th of July ; 

 all of the eggs on a female seeming to be about 

 equall}" advanced, the entire brood emerged 

 at very nearly the same time. Examination 

 of the ovaries, after their young had left, 

 showed that the females would not have laid 

 eggs again for a year ; that is, not before the 

 summer next following that in which they 

 had hatched a brood. In other words, the 

 dissections proved that the lobster lays only 

 once in two years, hatching a brood one sum- 

 mer and laying eggs the next following sum- 

 mer for another brood. The time required in 

 the development of the embryo is so long as 

 to preclude hatching the eggs under ordinary 

 circumstances during the summer in which 

 they are laid. Artificial conditions might 

 readily be brought about, by heating the water 

 in which the specimens are kept, which would 

 hasten the progress and greatly shorten the 

 period between laying and hatching ; but 

 normally the winter temperature induces an 

 almost complete suspension of advancement. 



By the small number of specimens kept, it 

 was not possible to fix the lengths of either 

 the laying or hatching periods. This, how- 

 ever, may be approximately done in connec- 

 tion with observations made by the United 

 States Fish Commission. It must be borne in 

 mind, in this connection, that the seasons 

 south of Cape Cod begin earlier and last longer 

 than in Massachusetts Bay, and that further 

 north they will be still more contracted. 

 Variation must also be expected in different 

 years, as the seasons are earlier or later, and 

 in different localities, as the waters are warmer 

 or colder. Though the bulk of the laying or 

 hatching in any particular year occurs within 



periods of two or three weeks, probably four- 

 fifths of either is finished in less than a fort- 

 night ; to make allowance for the early years 

 and for the late ones, and to include the early 

 and the belated individuals, it becomes neces- 

 sary to considerably extend the general per- 

 iods. 



From all that has been gathered we may 

 summarize as follows : (1) The female lob.ster 

 lays eggs but once in two years, the layings, 

 being two years apart ; (2) the normal time of 

 laying is when the water has reached its sum- 

 mer temperature, varying in different seasons- 

 and places, the period extending from about 

 the middle of June till about the 1st of Sep- 

 tember, and C3) the eggs do not hatch before 

 the summer following that in which they were 

 laid, the time of hatching varying with the 

 temperature, and the period extending from 

 about the middle of May till about the 1st of 

 August. I have the honor to be, very re- 

 spectfully yours, S. Garmaiv. 



This represents all that is known 

 of the life history of the lobster to-day. 

 Our }3lants from the eggs taken Jtily 

 8, 1893, were made on July 12 18 

 and 20, and was probably the last of 

 the eggs laid the summer before. I do 

 not believe that " the lobster lays eggs 

 all the year round," as has been said. 

 The animal leaves the " crawls " in 

 cold weather and seeks a depth where 

 the temperature is higher, and the 

 lobstermen shift their pots in accord- 

 ance with this migration. 



When it is remembered that the 

 eggs which we get would be sent to 

 market, boiled with the lobsters and 

 thrown away with the shells, it will be 

 seen what may be done in lobster cul- 

 ture with proper facilities. The lob- 

 ster is easier to catch than a rabbit, for 

 it has less sense, and when it sees a lob- 

 ster pot with its bait, it seems to have 

 found its haven of rest, and it has. 



The decrease of the number of lob- 

 sters from Newfoundland to New Jer- 

 sey has been accompanied by a decrease 

 in size and a corresponding increase in 



