NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 219 



(11) The hatching period varies also with the time of egg-laying, lobsters having 

 rarely been known to hatch in November and February. 



(12) Taking all things into consideration the sexes appear about equally divided, 

 though the relative numbers caught in certain places at certain times of the year may 

 be remarkably variable. 



(13) Molting commonly occurs from June to September, but there is no month of 

 the year in which soft lobsters may not be caught. 



(14) The male probably molts oftener than the female. 



(15) In the adult female the molting like the spawning period is a biennial one, 

 but the two periods are one year apart. As a rule, the female lays her eggs in July, 

 carries them until the following summer, when they hatch ; then she molts. It is 

 possible that a second molt may occur in the fall, winter, or spring, but it is not 

 probable, and molting just before the production of new eggs is a rare occurrence. 



(16) The egg-bearing female, with eggs removed, weighs less than the female of 

 the same length without eggs. 



(17) The new shell becomes thoroughly hard in the course of from six to eight 

 weeks, the length of time requisite for tliis varying with the food and other conditions 

 of the animal. 



(18) The young, after hatching, cut loose from their mother, rise to the surface of 

 the ocean, and lead a free life as pelagic larvae. The first larva is about one-third of 

 an inch long (7.84 mm.). The swimming period lasts from six to eight weeks, or until 

 the lobster has molted five or at most six times, and is three-fifths of an inch long, 

 when it sinks to the bottom. It now travels toward the shore, and, if fortunate, 

 establishes itself in the rock piles of inlets of harbors, where it remains until driven 

 out by ice in the fall or early winter. The smallest, now from 1 to 3 inches long, go 

 down among the loose stones which are often exposed at low tides. At a later period, 

 when 3 to 4 inches long, they come out of their retreats and explore the bottom, occa- 

 sionally hiding or burrowing under stones. Young lobsters have also been found in 

 eelgrass and on sandy bottoms in shallow water. 



(19) The food of the larva consists of minute pelagic organisms. The food of the 

 older and adult stages is largely of animal origin with but slight addition of vegetable 

 material, consisting chiefly of fish and invertebrates of various kinds. The large and 

 strong also prey upon the small and weak. 



(20) The increase in length at each molt is about 15.3 per cent. During the first 

 year the lobster molts from 14 to 17 times. At 10 inches the lobster has molted 25 

 to 26 times and is about five years old. 



After reviewing the most important facts concerning the life of this animal we 

 are ready to discuss the methods which have been tried to prevent its destruction, 

 such as: (1) The protection of immature lobsters by establishing a legal-size limit, or 

 by regulating the construction of traps, or by making close seasons periods of the 

 year when fishing is illegal; (2) protecting the " berried lobster" or females with 

 external eggs; (3) regulating the canning industry; and (4) attempting to increase the 

 supply of lobsters by .artificial propagation. It must be admitted that up to the 

 present time all these measures have proved very disappointing. 



The desire to protect the immature lobster and allow it to breed at least once in 

 its life is certainly commendable. It is largely because of the failure of efforts to 

 attain this result that the fishery is now in decline. One reason for this is that there 

 are no obvious means of determining whether a live lobster has in every case produced 



