THE AMERICAN LOBSTER. 29 



its body and brought out in ils large '-club claw" a small stone, which it deposited 

 near the mouth of the burrow. Having thus removed this obstruction, it laced about 

 and '-backed." tail first, into its newly acquired shelter. 



The east pound at this place has 18 feet of water at half tide and an average depth 

 of about S feet. On one side are low rocky cliffs, the talus of which gives shelter to 

 many lobsters, while the low clay banks of the opposite shore arc so completely under- 

 mined by their burrows as to afford, in some places, a very insecure foothold. I 

 examined these banks carefully from a boat, and had the opportunity of satisfying 

 m\ self of the extent to which the tunneling operations had been carried on. The holes 

 were driven horizontally into the mud bank to a distance of from 1 to 5 feet, and in 

 each a lobster could either be seen, the tips of its large claws and its antennae standing 

 out, or could be felt by inserting the end of an oar, the lobster fixing its large claws 

 on the blade and sometimes allowing itself to be dragged out clear. 



'fhe holes had sometimes a relatively large opening of 8 to 10 inches in diameter, 

 which allowed of their being readily probed and measured with an oar blade. I did 

 not observe that they ever had an upward or downward curve, but they sometimes 

 swerve to the right or left, which is explained, perhaps, by the presence of some obstacle 

 in the path. In some cases the holes were made beneath rocks, and the entrance was 

 often much larger than that described, owing, perhaps, to the union of the mouths of 

 two originally distinct burrows. The pile of dirt and the broken clam shells which 

 are sometimes seen near the hole of the lobster recall the excavations of the muskrat. 

 It is exceptional to sec a lobster with its tail projecting from the burrow. I saw one 

 or two under these circumstances, and when touched they immediately disappeared. 

 1 thought that possibly they might be engaged in digging while in this position, but 

 this was evidently not the case, as the water about the hole was very clear. These 

 pounds are often much roiled, so energetically do the lobsters turn over the bottom 

 and dig into the banks. On this account it is not easy to watch the process of 

 excavation, which in all probability is carried on at night. 



I was informed by one fisherman, who had hunted lobsters quite extensively along 

 the north Atlantic coast, that he had frequently taken lobsters out of holes in the 

 mud and eelgrass, while wading in shallow water. It has been observed in pounds 

 that a cold snap in winter will cause the lobsters to burrow suddenly in the mud, so 

 that they can not be taken in traps for several days. We have already noticed the 

 probable occurrence of the same thing in Newfoundland, when the temperature of the 

 water is abruptly lowered. (See pp. 21, and 2G, note 1.) 



The burrowing habits of certain species of crayfish are well known, while those 

 of the Stomatopods, which have been described by Professor Brooks, (20.]) are equally 

 characteristic. We meet with the same habit in many shrimp, such as Alpheus. 

 expressed in a greater or less degree; in crabs, and in a great uumber of the lower 

 Crustacea. 



THE FOOD OF THE LOBSTER AND HOW IT IS PROCURED. 



The food of the lobster consists principally of fish, alive or dead, and of inverte- 

 brates which inhabit the bottom and come within its reach. It is not unusual to find 

 bits of alga?, such as the common eelgrass, in its stomach, and sometimes in such 

 quantities as to show that it is not an accidental occurrence. Vegetable matter, 

 however, forms, at most, but a small part of its diet. Fragments of dead shells are 



