740 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



the same pond can be made to yield perch, flounders, eels, smelts, and other fish in great quanti- 

 ties at no additional expense." 



About 1879 or 1880, another similar park of about the same size as that above described was 

 established on the coast of Maine, by one of the large wholesale firms dealing in lobsters. The 

 place is a small inclosed bay with a narrow entrance, through which the passage of all objects 

 above a very small size is prevented by a screen of wire netting. A few years ago this bay always 

 contained an abundance of lobsters during the summer, and was much resorted to by fishermen. 

 Overfishing, however, had nearly exhausted the supply and made trapping in the basin unprofit- 

 able, although it had not deprived it of its natural advantages, which have been recently recog- 

 nized by those who are now in possession of its privileges. It contains an abundance of plant 

 and animal food, and toward the center has a sufficient depth of water, with a soft bottom, for the 

 protection of lobsters during cold weather. Into this park large quantities of soft-shelled lobsters, 

 of lobsters minus one or both claws, as wejl as of young individuals under the legal size of 10 or 10J 

 inches, have been placed for growth and repair, and it is claimed that the results have been satis, 

 factory. No food has been supplied them beyond what the park naturally contains. At the begin- 

 ning of cold weather, the lobsters retire to the deeper parts of the park, and at times, when the 

 water has been clear and calm, they have been observed almost completely buried in the mud, with 

 only their feelers, eyes, and a small portion of the front of the body exposed. 



While the owners of the park express great satisfaction at the results thus far obtained, they 

 are not content to rest their experiment at this point, but are endeavoring to solve the problem of 

 artificial breeding on a practical scale. They state that many of the lobsters first put into the pond 

 were females with spawn, and claim that the young then hatched have grown and greatly increased 

 its population. Since then, spawning females have been purposely added to the stock from time 

 to time, and at the last accounts young lobsters of various sizes were said to be exceedingly abun- 

 dant. In an experiment of this kind a considerable lapse of time is required to test its merits, but 

 the present outlook is very encouraging. 



THE POSSIBLE SUCCESS OF LOBSTER CULTURE. There is little reason to doubt the practi- 

 cability of lobster culture, but whether it can be made a paying business or not can only be 

 determined by experiment. A vital question for consideration in connection with it is that of 

 cost, and especially the first cost in establishing suitable breeding stations with the necessary 

 outfit, and ample basins for conducting the work on a sufficiently extensive scale to make its 

 results noticeable in an increased supply of lobsters. It seems scarcely possible that private 

 enterprise alone could ever successfully carry on such an undertaking which, at the outset, 

 requires the employment of much skilled labor, and must meet with many perplexing and 

 unlooked-for delays. The success which has attended the breeding of so many of our marine and 

 fresh-water products, through the co-operation of the National and State governments, might 

 better determine the proper course to pursue, and we earnestly hope that the attention of the 

 authorities will soon be directed toward this end. Before actual breeding operations are begun, 

 there are many important problems to be solved in respect to the natural history of lobsters, and 

 these must be intrusted to the painstaking skill of expert naturalists especially qualified for the 

 work. The breeding habits, rate of growth, and enemies should be carefully investigated, as also 

 the best means of caring for the young, the age at which they should be liberated from confine- 

 ment, and the best method of distributing them to different portions of the coast. All of these 

 questions must arise in any systematic attempt at lobster culture, and upon their proper treatment 

 future success will depend. 



TRANSPLANTING. It is an interesting question as to whether lobsters can be made to live 



