674 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



delays incident to making sales and shipments, and as long as the temperature and purity of the 

 water remain favorable, lobsters may be kept alive in the cars for an indefinite length of time, 

 providing they are not too much crowded. Fishermen who have to depend upon the smacks for 

 disposing of their catch are seldom visited by them more than once or twice a week, and where 

 they carry their own catch to market they can seldom afford to do so until a full load has accu- 

 mulated. The wholesale dealers must also keep a surplus on hand to meet unexpected sales, and 

 delays in receiving supplies. 



Some of the fishermen and dealers also claim that they always retain the lobsters in the cars 

 for at least two or three days after they are caught, in order that they may have time to rid them- 

 selves of the stale bait which would otherwise impart an unpleasant flavor to the flesh. 



Entirely submerged lobster-cars are used in Norway, and in these the lobsters are said to 

 have greater tenacity of life, but the objections raised against them by the fishermen in this coun- 

 try are, the extra labor required to lift the cars to the surface every time that lobsters are added 

 and removed; and the voracity of the eels which readily attack and destroy great quantities 

 of lobsters when they are confined upon the bottom. 



While lobsters will often attack one another with their claws when piled in the dry smacks, 

 unless their claws are so pegged as to hold them closed, they seldom do so in the cars, and the 

 practice of pegging the claws, once in vogue among the fishermen, has been almost entirely aban- 

 doned. 



THE BAIT USED IN THE LOBSTER FISHERY. 



CHARACTER AND KINDS OF BAIT. For baiting the lobster traps it is customary to make use 

 of the commoner species of fish, which can be easily and cheaply obtained and are of little or no 

 commercial value. Meat is, however, occasionally employed. 



The opinion is prevalent' among fishermen that lobsters are best attracted by fresh bait, 

 and that old or stale bait, or such as has remained in the traps a considerable length of time, is 

 less apt to tempt them. On the other hand, a few old lobstermen affirm that they use whatever 

 fish happen to be at hand, whether fresh or old, and that they have never noticed any difference 

 in the amount of their catch, which could be attributed to this cause. A very reliable informant 

 at Provincetown, Mass., states that " old stale bait, having a strong smell, forms decidedly the 

 best bait for lobsters." This man had followed the lobster fishery for many years, and had been 

 one of the most successful of his time. Other fishermen expressed the same opinion. Along with 

 fresh bait we must also class salted bait, which in some regions is very successfully used, at least 

 during certain seasons. 



With reference to the English species, Mr. Frank Buckland states that "neither crabs nor 

 lobsters will go into the pots unless there is some scent in the fish bait. The crabs are very par- 

 ticular as to diet; they will not eat stale fish. Lobsters will eat any kind of bait, even dried fish 

 or stock fish; they will even take a stinking bait." 



The chief essential of a good bait is said to be a bright or attractive color, white being pref- 

 erable, combined, if possible, with a strong odor. Oily fish like the menhaden possess this last 

 qualification in a high degree, and the menhaden, where it can be obtained, is very favorably 

 regarded. Cod heads, stripped of their skin, are sometimes employed successfully, as from their 

 white color they appear to attract the lobsters, although retaining little or no edible portions. 

 In attaching the bait in the traps, it is customary to arrange it with the bright side facing out- 

 wards, in order that it may be seen at a greater distance. 



Lobsters appear to take the bait more readily at some seasons than at others. A correspond- 



