340 



strong or any punishment too severe ? And yet, precisely 

 such a disastrous policy is in the case of the lobster freely 

 sanctioned and approved, without let or hindrance, every 

 day in the year. A remedy for this long-acknowledged 

 evil has been suggested on many sides in the form of the 

 proposition that the sale of berried lobsters should be made 

 illegal. Such a suggestion, however, if carried into practice, 

 could be easily evaded by the fishermen, who would simply 

 remove and throw away the spawn before bringing the 

 animals to shore. If, however, the cultivation of lobsters 

 from the egg should be developed as a practical industry, 

 there is every reason to believe that a stop would be speedily 

 put to the wholesale destruction of their eggs that is now 

 being carried forward If the expression of public opinion 

 should prove insufficient to bring about so desirable a 

 result, the supply of eggs at present only flowing to the 

 saucepans of the cooks might be diverted to the hatcheries 

 of the cultivators through the offer, if need be, of a better 

 price than they are at present commanding as a mere con- 

 diment for sauce. As a matter of fact, it is simply for its 

 decorative effect and not as a flavouring agent that the 

 article is in such demand by our West End chefs, 

 and surely in these days of discovery and invention 

 the chemists might come to our aid with some harmless 

 and yet equally brilliant pigmentary substance, that 

 being utilised as a substitute would remove all further 

 necessity for the present lamentable destruction of embryo 

 lobsters. 



The question that remains to be considered is as to whe- 

 ther lobster culture in the manner here suggested might be 

 prosecuted with pecuniary advantage by private individuals, 

 or whether it is a subject adapted only for the intervention 

 of the State. It is certainly scarcely to be anticipated that 



