•^nl rinili,-sl.r//i Ainiiial Mrrlin;/ 



tlic \\r\\. and kick llic liotloiii (uii. if Ihcv sec tlif police coiniiii:-. 

 A'cMport lias Ijcrn loaded up with lobsters from Massachusetis. 

 Wo tlioiiglit some time aiiO of increasing the limit in Rhode 

 Island to a little lurg-er than it is in Connecticut. But it seemed 

 to me the same troid)le would occur there, and Rhode Island 

 fishermen would take their lobsters over into Connecticnt. 



With ivsjx'ct to the biological aspect of the question at issue 

 I ha\e taken ilie \ iew that what we need is protection for 

 tile \('i-y small lohstei-s and not merely or i)e]'ha])S not mainly 

 an increase in the nundier of eggs. Of course every one knows 

 that if the lohsier on the average produces 1(I,():)0 eggs, 9.!lf)!) 

 of tln'Ui do not reach maturity oji the avei'age, otherwise the 

 sea Avould be filled with lobsters in a very short time. There is 

 an o\-erproduct:on among animals as a rtile. ami it is counter- 

 acti'd hy corresponding destruction of the immature. There are 

 therefore two opposite ways by which a si)ecies in natui-e maiu- 

 laiu theii' ahuiulaiice; one hy in'odueing enormous numliers of 

 young without much ])i'ovision for protection, as is the case with 

 the s]ia<l. lohste]' and scallop, the other ])y producing small num- 

 l)ei's of young an<l pro\i(liiig sjiecial i)rotection for them, as in 

 case of the dogfish, skate, toad-fish and the abundant sju'cies 

 ( 'r('/)liii(lii among mollusks. 



!n dealing with a s|)eci(,'s liki,' the lobster where the luunher 

 of young and the infant uKU'tality are great, it looks to me as 

 tliough we can do more good hy following the first named method, 

 that of ))i'otcciing the young, than by endeavoring to ])ro(luce 

 greater quantities of young to be a sacrifice. Xow, there is no 

 (piestion at all, I think, that the usual destruction of lol)ster fry, 

 immediately after the eggs are hatched, is perfectly enornKuis, 

 and then is lessened step by step as the lobster grows older. 

 Thei'e is no douht that fingerling lobsters too, are destroyed in 

 cousidei'ahlc lunnhers. hy cat and dogfish. But as they increase 

 in size the destiMU-t ion is pi-oportionately less. (~)f course, that 

 miglit he applied in difi'erent ways, but to my mind it shows that 

 till' lohsters that have gone tbi-ougb a period up to when they 

 can liegin to hi'eed are very valuahle lo])stei's. and they ought 

 not then to lie killed oil' hefore they have a chance to breed. I 

 know that the original pi'oposition of Di'. Field's appeals strong- 

 ly !o a gi-cat many people at first glam-e : it is a \-ery plaus'ble 



