THE AMERICAN LOBSTER. 17 



CHARACTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT. 



Where there is great diversity of natural conditions throughout the geograph- 

 ical range of an animal we may expect to find its habits varying in a proportionate 



degree. From Labrador to Maine the Atlantic coast is rocky, and often precipitous, 

 with deep bays and harbors, and with Large islands, some like Grand Mauan pre- 

 senting sheer perpendicular walls to the sea. The coast of Maine, in its middle and 

 eastern sections, is essentially bold and rocky, and diversified to an extraordinary 

 degree by channels cut by large fresh water rivers, by long deep inlets, studded with 

 islands large and small, by bold rocky promontories, and by groups of larger islands 

 farther from shore, such as the Viual Haven or Fox islands. These are masses of gray 

 granite, scarred and cut up by glacial forces into an archipelago of smaller islands, 

 abounding in long granite basins and inlets, into which pure sea water is driven 

 with every tide. Thus are formed the most admirable breeding-grounds for the 

 lobster, for fish, and other marine animals. In the region of Cape Cod we meet with 

 extensive shoals, which resemble on a smaller scale those of North Carolina. The 

 northern part of the Massachusetts coast is rocky, while the southern section is 

 greatly diversified, abounding in submerged ledges, sandy and weedy bottom, and a 

 great variety of bays and channels in the vicinity of the Elizabeth Islands, where 

 lobsters used to abound until their numbers were depleted by overfishing. 



Under the variety of conditions which I have hinted at, we should not only expect 

 to find lobsters larger and more abundant in some localities than elsewhere, a condition 

 greatly influenced by the number and persistence of fishermen, but also to meet with 

 variations in the time of laying and hatching of the eggs, in the season of molting, in 

 the time when the semiannual movements are undertaken, in color, and in a variety 

 of other details. 



The habits of the lobster as affected by the changes of season and other causes 

 in the various stages of its life will be described, as we have been able to interpret 

 them, in different parts of this work. Certain habits, however, are often so closely 

 interrelated that the mere mention of one requires a consideration of others also. 



INTELLIGENCE OF THE LOBSTER. 



Since the lobster belongs to a less specialized class than the crab, it is not surprising 

 to find that its intelligence is of a lower order. Sluggish as it often appears when out 

 of water and partially exhausted, it is quite a different animal when free to move at 

 will in its natural environment on the sea bottom. It is very cautious and cunning, 

 capturing its prey by stealth, and with weapons which it knows how to conceal. 

 Lying hidden in a bunch of seaweed, in a crevice among the rocks or in its burrow in 

 the mud, it waits until its victim is within reach of its claws, before striking the fatal 

 blow. The senses of sight and hearing are probably far from acute, but it possesses 

 a keen sense of touch, and of smell, and probably also a sense of taste. We have, 

 moreover, seeu that it is quite sensitive to changes in temperature. 



All animals which play the part of scavengers have strong powers of scent, and 

 the lobster is no exception to the rule. This is illustrated by the way in which it can 

 be enticed into the traps. Thus it is asserted that where traps are set on a trawl 

 placed across the tide, the catch is greater than when the trawl is set in the direction 



F. C. B. 1895—2 



