ISOPODA 341 



does not appear to have established itself, and I have specimens from 

 one locality in Hawke's Bay only." 



The species is abundant in Norfolk Island, the Kermadecs, 

 Australia, etc. 



Order DECAPODA 



Sub-order MACRURA 



Family NEPHROPSiDiE 



Homarus vulgaris, Linn. European Lobster 



The first attempt to introduce the lobster into New Zealand 

 waters was made by the late Mr A. M. Johnson, who left London 

 in 1864 by the ship 'British Empire' with 26 lobsters on board 

 which he obtained from the "Mumbles" in Wales. In a letter 

 to me dated 15th September, 191 5, he says: "they developed so 

 pugnacious a disposition that they killed each other; the remaining 

 one I sold to one of the first-class passengers." Mr Johnson evidently 

 kept them altogether in one tank. 



In 1885 Mr S. C. Farr, on behalf of the Canterbury Society, put 

 12 lobsters on board the 'Kaikoura,' but they all died in the tropics. 



In 1892 Mr Clifford shipped a number from London for the 

 Otago Acclimatisation Society, but "although the experiment was 

 gone into on a somewhat extensive scale, it nevertheless failed." 



In 1891 and again in 1892, Mr Purvis, chief engineer of the 

 'Ionic,' attempted to bring lobsters out to Otago, on both occasions 

 without success. But in 1893 he was successful in landing nine (out 

 of 12 shipped) at Dunedin. These were liberated at the Mole at 

 the entrance to Otago Harbour, a very unsuitable place, but nothing 

 more was ever heard of them. 



The next attempt was made on behalf of the Board of the Porto- 

 bello Marine Fish Hatchery, when arrangements were made with the 

 Marine Biological Laboratory to procure lobsters at Plymouth, and 

 ship them to New Zealand. Four shipments were made on successive 

 trips of the S.S. 'Karamea' in 1906-8, as follows: 



Date of arrival 

 at Port Chalmers 



1906, June 29th .. 



1907, Feb. 26th .. 

 Aug. 25th .. 



1908, March 6th .. 



In 1908 some 36,000 larvae were hatched in the tanks; and in the 

 following year about 100,000 were hatched out. In 19 10 only 33,000 

 larvae were secured in the tanks; but the majority were allowed to 

 hatch naturally in the ponds and the larvae to escape into the open 



