THE AMERICAN LOBSTER. Il9 



The fact that the male is heavier than the female of the same length is very clearly 

 brought out by the observations recorded above. In passing the eye down the 

 columns to the left only three cases will be discovered where this is not true, namely, 

 in the 6, 7, and S inch lobsters. The difference here in favor of the females, where a 

 sufficient number of observations were made to entitle them to much confidence, is 

 only a question of fractions of an ounce in average weights. After passing the 8-inch 

 limit the balance is in favor of the male. The 10-inch males are about half an ounce 

 heavier thau the females of the same length. From this stage the excess in favor of 

 the male becomes very marked. The 11-inch male exceeds the female of the same 

 length by a full quarter of a pound. In the lobster 12£ inches long there is a greater 

 difference in favor of the male, 7i ounces in the cases cited in the table. 



It is evident from the facts here recorded that the greater size of the male, which 

 is a sexual characteristic, does not appear until the animal has passed the 8-inch limit. 

 At this period the sexes are of about equal weight, but from this point the male 

 surpasses ttie female in weight, owing chiefly to the greater development of the large 

 claws. 



The average weight of females without and with eggs recorded in columns 6 and 

 9 of table 31 brings to the surface a rather unexpected fact, namely, that females with 

 spawn are in a poorer condition or weigh relatively less than females without. In 

 one-third of the cases here recorded the weight of females with eggs was actually 

 less than that of females of the same length without eggs. In the 10-inch series, 

 184 females were examined; 3G of them had eggs, and weighed on the average but 

 one-tenth ounce more than those without eggs. Turning to table 10, we find that the 

 average quantity of eggs borne by a 10-iuch lobster is 1.73 fluid ounces, and since a 

 fluid ounce of lobster eggs weighs very nearly an ounce avoirdupois, the average 

 weight of the 10-inch female deprived of her eggs is 22.13 ounces, as compared with 

 23.76 ounces, the average weight of non-egg-bearing females of this size. There is a 

 difference of 1.G3 ounces in favor of the female without eggs. In the case of the 

 9i-inch lobsters, where 169 in all and 24 bearing eggs were examined, the average 

 weight of the spawuers is less by 0.09 ounce than that of the corresponding females 

 without eggs. 



The facts which have just been stated do not support the conclusion of Buckland 

 and his associates on the fisheries work in Great Britain, that "the lobster, when 

 berried, is in the very best possible condition for food." (28, p. xvi. See p. 64.) 



In the last column of table 31 the average weights of lobsters corresponding to 

 definite lengths are given. A lobster of the minimum length at which it can be legally 

 sold, lOi- inches, weighs on the average If pounds, while a 12-inch lobster attains a 

 weight of 2 pounds 11 ounces, and a lobster 15 inches long weighs from 4 to 4i pounds, 

 and probably more in some cases. 



Lobster No. 7, table 30, 17| inches long, weighed nearly 10 pounds (though in this 

 case the cutting-claw was undersized), and the mammoth specimens recorded in this 

 table, weighing from 20 to 23 pounds, varied only from 20 to 21f inches in length 

 (pp. 113-116). 



In the early part of this chapter I mentioned the fact that the disparity in weight 

 between lobsters of the same length was due largely to the difference in the size of 

 the large claws. This is illustrated by the following table, which is compiled from the 

 observations made by Vinal N. Edwards. 



