738 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



edly becruse of the warmer, shallow, inshore water. By the middle of April the 

 eggs are sufficiently welt advanced to be removed from the parent and put up 

 in the hatching jars; and as at this time the lobsters become quite active in a 

 rising water temperature it is quite important that they then be removed to 

 avoid serious losses from mutilation. 



The removal of impounded lobsters is effected at low tide, the flood gates 

 being opened and a portion of the water drawn off with care to retain enough 

 water to protect the lobsters from exposure. Men in dories then go about the 

 shallow portions of the pound picking up the lobsters on ordinarv clam forks or 

 hoes, the sharp teeth of which have been blunted. It was formerly the custom 

 to use a drag seine for gathering the lobsters, Ijut taken in such quantities they 

 mutilate one another and it has been found preferable to remove them by hand. 

 After a portion of the stock has been removed the water is drawn still lower, 

 until finally only a small area of the pound is flooded, and the remaining lobsters 

 are removed. 



As it has not been possible to transport lobster eggs successfully when 

 detached, the berried females are always taken to the hatchery to be stripped, 

 the transfer being made in the wells of fishing smacks or the Bureau's vessels. 

 From this time to the close of the season in July berried lobsters are collected 

 from the fishermen and transferred to the hatchery to be stripped. Imme- 

 diately after the close of the season the collection of fresh berried lobsters for 

 stocking the pound is begun and continued into November. 



It is unquestionable that the impounding of lobsters as practiced in Maine 

 is superior to any other present method of holding the adults for a length of 

 time. The character of the Maine coast, with its numerous natural inlets and 

 its unusual rise and fall of tide, affords especial advantages for the use of pounds. 

 When these conditions do not exist, however, recourse can be had to cars, 

 although data thus far obtainable fully demonstrate that a larger number of 

 lobsters can be held for a longer time and with a smaller percentage of loss in 

 pounds than in cars. 



Contrary to the custom of the pound fishermen, the ice on the surface of 

 the pound operated by the Bureau of Fisheries is removed from time to time 

 during the winter, with the result that a much larger percentage of lobsters is 

 found in the spring. It has been observed that the rising and falling of ice 

 with the tide frequently crushes lobsters that happen to be in the shallow water 

 near the edges of the pound, and removal of the ice at intervals obviates this 

 difficulty. 



Experiments have been made as to the poundkeepers' practice of inserting 

 wooden plugs in the claws of penned lobsters to prevent their mutilating one 

 another. For lobsters intended for market the procedure seems suitable, 

 though it results in an unsightly discoloration of the muscles. There seemed 



