1C 



to Shoreliam. It is very possible that the lobsters come in from great 

 distances to breed in this locality. The water is in the summer time con- 

 siderably warmed by flowing over large tracts of sand which are heated by 

 the sun. Built in to the walls of the street at Bognor I observed several stones 

 covered with dead oyster spat. Oysters will not adhere unless the water is 

 warm. I conclude therefore that the warmth that is favourable to oyster 

 breeding is also favourable to young lobsters. Small lobsters are also caught 

 in considerable numbers in the prawn nets at Budleigh Salterton. 



Again we heard that there is a ground outside St. Mawes where lobsters do 

 not grow large, Out of 20 only 5 or 6 will measure 11 inches. 



Small lobsters also come from Ayrshire. The very small lobsters at Whitby 

 are called nintycocks or nancies. 

 Sexes of lobsters. The female lobster may be distinguished from the male by no less than five 

 , points of diagnosis. 



Firstly, the female is much broader across the arch of the tail than the male. 



I have measured the tails of a male and female lobster, both being about 

 the same size, viz., 10 inches in length ; the tail of the female was a quarter 

 of an inch broader than that of the male. This is a beautiful provision to give 

 space for the bunches of eggs. I have also remarked that the broad ends of 

 the side armour plates of the tail are much closer together in the female than in 

 the male. This serves as a protection for the eggs. 



Secondly. A male can be distinguished from a female lobster by the strong 

 spines upon the inner arch of the joints beneath the tail which support the 

 middle plates of the tail. In the male these spines are strong and projecting. 

 In the female, they can just be felt by the finger. 



Thirdly. In the male the first pair of legs or feathers under the tail are large ; 

 in the female they are small (not half the size). 



The second pair of legs also differ; the male has a kind of spur on them 

 which is absent in the female. 



Fourthly. Between the two last pair of legs in both sexes of lobsters there 

 exists a portion of the armour in the shape of an inverted saddle; in the male 

 the flaps of the saddle present a deep indentation, in the female these are 

 more or less rounded off. 



Fifthly. The male lobster can be distinguished from the female in the 

 following manner. At the junction of the last pair of legs with the body 

 can be found in the male two minute holes, large enough to admit a pin. 

 In the female, similar holes will be found in the same relative situation, at the 

 insertion of the pair of claws which are the second above the saddle and the 

 third from the pinching claws. 

 Eggs of lobsters. The berried lobster carries five bunches of eggs on each side underneath the 

 tail, making ten bunches in all. I have counted the eggs on one bunch and 

 find that there are 2,496 on one bunch, making the number of eggs in this one 

 lobster 24,960. 



Lobsters are found with berries all the year round ; March, April, May, are 

 the months when they are fullest. 



In order to supply lobster eggs to the cooks for sauce, Mr. Sheppard, 

 lobster boiler, has collected in April and May from 14 to 18 pounds of lobster 

 spawn ; there are, I find, 6,720 eggs in one ounce of lobster spawn. Here then 

 were destroyed eggs which might have represented, say, in 16 lbs. of eggs, no 

 less than 1,720,320 lobsters. 

 Lobsters breed- I have fortunately been able to obtain the following interesting account of 

 lobsters breeding. It is by the celebrated fish culturist the late M. Coste : — 



" The lobster commences breeding in the month of October, and the pairing 

 takes place sometimes as late as January. The couplings are rare at the open- 

 ing of the season, but increase in frequency to the end of December, and but 

 few take place in January. The female emits the eggs in about fifteen or 

 twenty days after the pairing. When they have reached the stage proper for 

 their expulsion, the female applies the inner side of the tail against the plastron 

 or shell immediately over the stomach, in such a manner as to form a cup or 

 cavity, in which are to be found the openings of the oviduct, placed exactly 

 behind the third pair of legs. Consequently when the eggs escape from the 

 stomach they fall into this natural cup or cavity, as described above. They 

 are expelled in successive jets to the number of 20,000 in a single day. 



mg, 



