THE AMERICAN LOBSTER. 17 



caused surprise, may have laid their eggs during the last half of July, and thai very 

 few in reality extruded their eggs during the firsl part of this month. It is not 

 probable that any eggs were laid in June. 



In the second week of August, 1893, a vessel came into Portland, Maine, bringing 

 lobsters from Seguin island and Georgetown. Very few lobsters were at this time 

 i August 13 to 20) with spawn. 



I have been told by fishermen and others that lobsters are sometimes taken out 

 of the wells of smacks in winter with very dark, external eggs, when it had been the 

 rule to carefully exclude every egg-lobster in loading the boat, the inference being 

 that lobsters had laid while in the well. Allowing a wide loophole for error in such 

 cases, it is very evident from the facts already recorded that this is quite likely to 

 happen. 



Mr. Nielsen gives the spawning period for lobsters in Newfoundland as extending 

 from the 20th of July to the 20th of August (Annual lieport of the Newfoundland 

 Fisheries Commission, 1892), but also states, in reply to certain questions which I 

 endeavored to have answered, that lobsters were taken with newly laid eggs up to 

 the latter part of September. 



The spawning months for the lobster in Prince Edward Island are said to be July 

 and August. We have no data whatever upon the spawniug habits of the lobster on 

 the coast of Labrador, or in the extreme southern parts of its range. 



Considering the fact that the lobster is distributed through 20 degrees of latitude, 

 there is less variation in the time of spawning than might be expected. 



THE LAYING OF THE EGGS AND THE ABSORPTION OF OVARIAN OVA. 



I have not seen the process of egg extrusion and consequently have no direct 

 observations to record. It has, however, been witnessed in other Crustacea where it is 

 undoubtedly similar. In two instances lobsters have laid eggs while kept in small 

 aquaria in the laboratory of the United States Fish Commission. Since these animals 

 were under constant surveillance during the day, it is almost certain that the eggs 

 were deposited in the night or early morning, as is the well-known habit of many 

 decapods. In each case the mother lobster scratched off nearly all of her eggs in the 

 course of a few days. 1 In other attempts to observe this process, where the eggs seemed 

 to be overdue, I dissected the animals and found that the ova were retained and partially 

 absorbed. This led to other attempts with similar results. 



Two "ripe" female lobsters, measuring 11.5 and 9 inches, respectively, were cap- 

 tured July 30 in Woods Hole Harbor, and placed in a large floating car, which was 

 kept covered so that the lobsters were not exposed to direct sunlight. Fifteen days 

 later, August 14, their ovaries were examined. In the smaller individual more than 

 half the ovarian eggs, which were overdue, were in various stages of degeneration, 

 thus giving the ovary a remarkable appearance. Instead of the uniform dark green 

 hue, it was of a light yellow or straw color flecked with darker green areas, where 



1 Ehrenbaura (61, p. 287), who mentions a single case of a female lobster -which was found lyiug on 

 its back shortly after the eggs had been extruded from the body, says: "The mass of eggs lay in the 

 mold formed by the folded abdomen without being fixed, since the cement bad not as yet hardened. 

 When the animal, in consequence of a disturbance, soon made movements and tried to get upon its 

 feet, most of the eggs were left at the bottom of the aquarium, and only a small uumber were already 

 so firmly fixed that they clung to the swimming feet.'' 



